The best archers at the 2026 African Archery Championships
Oran, the city on the coast of Algeria hosted the 2026 African Archery Championships from 21-26 July, the 15th edition of the event. The two previous championships were held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire in 2025 and Nabeul, Tunisia in 2023.
As well as the senior competitions, the championships featured recurve under-18 and under-21 categories, along with para recurve and compound events for men and women.
We've covered some of the highlights already, including Roua Ben Abdelkader upgrading last year‘s silver to a well-deserved gold, and Senegalese Paralympian Aliou Drame making it three from three to become African champion for the third time in a row.
Here are some of the other performances that surprised and delighted us in Oran:
3. Jannie Meuwesen - Namibia
Meuwesen took the first of two compound individual golds for Namibia on the stage on Saturday, beating last year‘s winner Adrien Charoux 133-128 on the stage, in the most challenging wind of the tournament.
Although long-experienced, it was Jannie’s first international medal, at 46 years old. “I‘m a little bit lost for words, but very happy with the result, yes.”
The result was one of four golds for Namibia, who have renewed their international compound focus with the LA28 Olympic Games increasingly on the horizon. “There's a lot of preparation still to be done, but very happy and very, very, excited for that for sure.”
“Thank you very much to everyone supporting me, from the smallest matches to the biggest one. All of them count in the end. And when you're standing there up on the line, you are doing the best for your country.”
2. Junior Aristide Falang Delli (Cameroon)
“I came to the African Championships in Oran in 2026 with a single goal: to win the gold medal, and that’s exactly what happened.”
Falang Delli easily took the prize for the most assured performance of the week; as he took the barebow men‘s title, age just 20, at his first major tournament, surfing a wave of absolute confidence.
“I faced athletes – archers – who were top-tier. They were strong, yes, I competed against them, but I didn’t give up, just as a lion always says. A lion isn’t afraid. I fought until the very end. Now I’ve had my country’s flag raised and its national anthem played on the international stage. It really brings me joy,” he said.
Delli also opened up about a frequent issue facing African archers. “We’re short on equipment, especially. Since we’re in Africa, there aren’t many stores that sell archery equipment. We have to order from Europe. And to order, you need money. It’s a bit complicated. But it’s okay – we’re looking for solutions and pushing forward. If we want to become champions, we have to make sacrifices.”
Delli‘s next target is 2027 African Games, which will be held in Egypt. “Inshallah, I’ll be there. My goal now will be to win it just like I did at the African Championships.”
1. Marwa Rahmoun (Algeria)
Rahmoun not only took the individual title in barebow women by thrashing Nigeria‘s Faith Adekogbe in the final, she took the mixed team gold title too with Chafik Mekki – even if Nigeria got the better of Algeria‘s women in the team gold final.
By the time the individual gold match rolled around, it looked like she was ready to deliver a champion‘s performance – and she did. “I was expecting it, but it was a very difficult task,” she said.
After seeding second in the qualification round, she knew she could do better, and followed a classic step-by-step goal setting pattern to get there. “I continued each day with its agenda, just focusing on the daily task, and I managed to arrange or actually overcome each task for each day after the qualification with the elimination matches till reaching the final.”
She is now African champion at just 23 years old. ”I'm very happy that I'm making my parents proud of me, making Algeria proud of me. I can still cannot describe how happy I am.”
