Ruiz, Mucino and Carter take individual gold to wrap up Pan American Championships
The USA topped the medal table at the Tlaxcala 2026 Pan American Championships, claiming three of the four individual titles on the final day alongside five team and mixed team gold medals across the week.
Alexis Ruiz was the only archer to defend an individual title from Medellin 2024, edging Colombia’s Sara Lopez 148-147 in the compound women’s gold medal match.
The 26-year-old, now world number five, also shot 148 in her semifinal victory over top seed Alejandra Usquiano, who went on to claim bronze.
It was Ruiz’s third medal of the championships after compound mixed team gold and compound women’s team bronze.
USA teammate Gaius Carter claimed the first major international title of his career in compound men, defeating three-time Pan American Championships winner Roberto Hernandez of El Salvador.
Isaac Sullivan secured bronze, meaning both archers leave Tlaxcala with an individual medal and compound men’s team gold.
In recurve men, Marcus D’Almeida claimed his second Pan American Championships title after adding Tlaxcala 2026 to the gold he won in Santiago 2022.
The Brazilian edged Brady Ellison in a heavyweight semifinal shoot-off – his first victory over the American in their last four meetings – before defeating Canada’s Eric Peters 6-0 in the gold medal match.
Peters had earlier produced one of the surprises of the day by eliminating defending champion Matias Grande in the semifinals, but D’Almeida proved too strong, closing out the match with ends of 30, 29 and 28.
It was a champion’s performance from D’Almeida after what, by his own high standards, had been a frustrating Hyundai Archery World Cup season.
“After three World Cups where I couldn't perform the way I know I have to and the way I can, I feel good,” he said. “Today when I woke up, I said, ‘It doesn't matter who is next to me, I am going to do my job,’ and I know my level is very high, so I knew I could win.”
Grande recovered to secure the bronze medal.
Olympian Jennifer Mucino claimed the first senior outdoor individual title of her career with a 7-3 victory over Paris 2024 teammate Casey Kaufhold in the recurve women’s final.
Kaufhold never looked entirely comfortable on the Tlaxcala stage and did not shoot higher than 28, while a composed Mucino repeatedly found another gear when it mattered most.
It was her third medal of the championships after recurve women’s team gold and recurve mixed team silver, helping the USA finish with more than twice as many medals as host nation Mexico.
For Mucino, who was born in the USA but grew up in Mexico City, it marked a memorable career milestone.
The individual finals concluded the Tlaxcala 2026 Pan American Championships.
Podiums: 2026 Pan American Championships
Full results on the event page.
Recurve men
- Marcus D’Almeida, Brazil
- Eric Peters, Canada
- Matias Grande, Mexico
Recurve women
- Jennifer Mucino, USA
- Casey Kaufhold, USA
- Angela Ruiz, Mexico
Compound men
- Gaius Carter, USA
- Roberto Hernandez, El Salvador
- Isaac Sullivan, USA
Compound women
- Alexis Ruiz, USA
- Sara Lopez, Colombia
- Alejandra Usquiano, Colombia
Medal table: 2026 Pan American Championships
Countries with at least one gold medal listed.
USA: 16 (8 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze)
Mexico: 7 (2 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze)
Brazil: 3 (1 gold, 2 bronze)
Argentina: 1 (1 gold)
Archers from nine countries collected the 36 medals (12 gold, 12 silver, 12 bronze) awarded at the 2026 Pan American Championships.
