Madrid 2026: Five archers to watch at the final stage of the World Cup
For the second consecutive year, the Hyundai Archery World Cup concludes in Spain’s capital, Madrid.
Vallehermoso Stadium once again hosts qualification, while the finals move to the Complutense National Stadium. Of the 392 athletes competing – by far the largest field of the 2026 season – only four will secure the remaining individual tickets to the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in Saltillo, Mexico.
With the Asian Games and Mediterranean Games fast approaching, Madrid is the final opportunity for many athletes to strengthen their case ahead of this year’s major multisport events.
Among those competing are three of the world’s four number ones: Marcus D’Almeida in recurve men, Kang Chaeyoung in recurve women and Mathias Fullerton in compound men.
Top compound woman Andrea Becerra of Mexico is absent, however, as she and the rest of the nation’s leading squad prepare for the Santo Domingo 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games.
Those names alone are worth following, but here are five other athletes to watch this week.
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1. Liu Jinyi
Who? Part of China’s first Hyundai Archery World Cup compound men’s team gold medal at Antalya 2026.
Why? If the cameras were rolling throughout the competitions in Shanghai and Antalya, you are probably already familiar with Liu Jinyi.
Still in his debut Hyundai Archery World Cup season, he has been hard to miss on the shooting line, wearing his heart on his sleeve and every high and low of competition on his face.
If you have not yet seen the moment China’s historic victory over Denmark was confirmed in Antalya, you can probably imagine the celebrations.
While he has not been China’s highest-scoring compound men’s archer this season – that honour belongs to Shi Jingyu – and has yet to reach an individual quarterfinal, you get the feeling that his passion, reflecting the rapid rise of compound archery in China, could soon translate into something special.
He shot every arrow into the 10-ring during the team gold medal match in Antalya, proving the big stage does not faze him.
But can he reach it on his own in Madrid?
Even in defeat, Liu forced a shoot-off against compound men’s world record holder James Lutz in Shanghai – his first senior international competition.
2. Katharina Raab
Who? The 2026 European Grand Prix Spring Arrows compound women’s bronze medallist from Germany.
Why? Liu and China are relishing the addition of compound mixed team to the LA28 Olympic programme – and so are Germany and Katharina Raab.
Before the historic announcement last spring, Raab had competed at only three Hyundai Archery World Cup stages in her career – all in Antalya between 2023 and 2025. Madrid will be her fourth appearance of the 2026 season after already competing in Puebla and Antalya.
The increased focus on compound archery appears to have propelled her to new heights, with the German now on the cusp of becoming a genuine contender among the sport’s elite.
As well as claiming bronze at the 2026 Spring Arrows, Raab posted a personal-best 706 to qualify second in Antalya before helping Germany defeat the USA for compound women’s team bronze.
She also reached the individual quarterfinals in both Puebla and Antalya, losing only to eventual champion Sara Lopez in Mexico. Both results represented the best Hyundai Archery World Cup finishes of her career.
Can that upward trajectory continue all the way to individual glory in Madrid?
Raab and Paolo Kunsch also won compound mixed team silver in Antalya last year.
3. Kim Woojin
Who? The Paris 2024 Olympic Champion from Korea.
Why? Very rarely does it make sense to include a great such as Kim Woojin among five athletes to watch, but time is running short for the 34-year-old.
It is equally rare to see Woojin go through a Hyundai Archery World Cup season without winning an individual medal – something he has never done – let alone an individual gold medal.
Ranked 20th in the standings, the only way for him to qualify for the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final is to win in Madrid.
Even if he does, however, a trip to Saltillo just one week before the Asian Games begin may not fit into Korea’s plans.
It would still do no harm to collect what would be his ninth individual Hyundai Archery World Cup stage gold, with Madrid representing his final major international competition before Aichi-Nagoya.
Following fifth and 24th-place finishes in Shanghai and Antalya, Woojin has looked far from satisfied with his individual performances, although Korea’s recurve men’s team has remained dominant, winning gold at both stages.
Can he end on a high before the Asian Games?
Woojin is a five-time Hyundai Archery World Cup Champion.
4. Casey Kaufhold
Who? A Paris 2024 Olympic mixed team bronze medallist from the USA.
Why? Casey Kaufhold began the year with a bang, winning her third Vegas Shoot title after successfully defending the crown she claimed in 2025.
So far, however, she has been unable to translate that indoor form into individual success outdoors.
A mixed team silver alongside Ellison in Puebla was her only medal of the outdoor season until a highly successful Pan American Championships campaign in Tlaxcala last week.
There, Kaufhold joined Jennifer Mucino and Olivia Martin to defeat Mexico for recurve women’s team gold, before reaching the individual final, where she lost only to Mucino.
Kaufhold revealed in Puebla that she has been implementing a new technique this season. Judging by her performances in Tlaxcala, could it all now be clicking into place in time for the final stage of the tour?
Despite being world number two, Kaufhold has just one individual Hyundai Archery World Cup stage gold to her name – Paris 2023.
5. Samuel Molina
Who? A two-time Para Pan American Champion from Mexico.
Why? As recurve head coach Marc Dellenbach prepares Mexico’s leading recurve squad for the Santo Domingo 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games, the door has opened for another Mexican star to compete in Madrid.
Like Singapore’s Nur Syahidah Alim did in Antalya, Samuel Molina is hoping to translate his success in para archery to the able-bodied ranks. Unlike Alim, however, Madrid will mark his first appearance at a Hyundai Archery World Cup.
The two-time Paralympian has won numerous medals in the para recurve men’s category, including gold at the Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games.
Across the three able-bodied 70-metre competitions he has contested, his best result was fourth place after losing the bronze medal match at the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix.
After five years away from able-bodied competition, the 44-year-old returned in Merida earlier this year for an Indoor World Series stage, suggesting this was more than a one-off appearance.
Madrid will also be his first outdoor competition of the season, having not competed internationally in para archery during 2026.
Will he make his presence felt?
Molina won both Americas Para Cups in Morelia and Chicago during the circuit’s inaugural season.
