22 October 2006 - Flash Interviews from World Cup Finals

Flash Interviews from Finals Merida – 22 October 2006   Photo (c) www.dutchtarget.com: Goncharova and Kazantseva (RUS) Sofia Goncharova (RUS), World Cup Winner in Compound Women: Sofia, you won the World Championships in 2005, three World Cup stages this year and now the Final ! What is your secret for winning ? There is no secret ! I have been shooting archery for 10 years now and these results come from all the training. My style isn’t the most conventional, because my holding hand is opened. However, I think every archer at high level develop his her own style to be the most efficient.   At the semi-final match of this World Cup Final in Mayapan, you had a slow start and were losing vs. Jamie Van Natta (USA) after 8 arrows out of 12. Did you think at any time you would have come this far and lost the most important match of the season ? No. As an elite archer, you must always think you can win until the last arrow. I must admit I was a little nervous at the beginning of the match, shooting at the first World Cup Final ever in such a great venue. I managed to stay focused and pulled a victory at the end.   You deserved it. Although Jamie was a bit unlucky with her trigger in the last shot and scored a zero, you finished with a 10 for a 111-100 win. However, it is not the first time I saw you having a bad start in an important match. Are you really too nervous ? Not all the time. There is also the fact that you have to adapt to a new environment. As you know in each World Cup stage, the field for the finals is different. It is a special place for the fans and for the TV. It’s great, but for us the archers, we come from the practice field and start directly the match on the final field. It takes me sometimes a couple of arrows to adapt to the view of this new field. Then I must be consistently in the 10 circle to win the match.   At the final match of the World Cup Final in Mexico, you played your teammate and friend Anna Kazantseva. Did it give you some extra difficulty ? Yes. It was a big match for both us and we are really friends. We help each other a lot during practice. I managed to stay focus on my archery and I am very happy I won. Maybe Anna will win the next World Cup.   What will you do with the 20’000 USD prize money of the World Cup Final ? I don’t know yet… I could buy some arrows… or rather a car !   Jahna Davis (USA), bronze medalist in Compound Women: You finally won a big match against one of the top three this year. It comes at the right time. How do you feel ? Don’t forget it was a come-back year for me. It was due or die for this bronze medal match. I am very excited to finish 3rd at the World Cup Final. The Final field with the pyramids was so gorgeous, it was a great feeling to shoot archery here !   Jamie Van Natta (USA), 4th place in Compound Women: What happened in your last arrow of the semi-final match ? I changed my trigger last week in order to shoot faster for the 20 seconds rule, and it this time… it went too fast. I wasn’t stabilized with my aim and the arrow went a couple of meters short. That’s OK, I am learning about myself all the times and next year I hope I can put all the little details together and win these big matches.   Reo Wilde (USA), World Cup Winner in Compound Men: Reo, you came very big shooting 118 and then a perfect 120 in the two most important matches of the year. How do you do it ? The best archers bring the best of me ! In archery, you have to make your best shots when it matters the most, and take one shot at the time. All the training paid off as well ! It’s a beautiful venue and the crowd was great cheering for every single archer ! Thank you FITA for organizing such a great event !   Peter Elzinga (NED), silver medalist in Compound Men: This 2nd place is good enough ! What can you do vs. somebody who shoots a perfect 120 in a final… All my congratulations to Reo ! I came to Mexico without expecting anything. I felt the pressure of competing in a World Cup final but also the venue gave me some great feelings. This is why I am very happy with my 2nd place.   Di Buo (ITA), silver medalist in Recurve Men: You have to start perfect to have a chance vs. a Korean archer. I started with a 7 and an 8… I could not catch up. It was a great season anyway !   Magnus Petersson (SWE), bronze medalist in Recurve Men: It was a fantastic event. I am very happy at the end, although I didn’t shoot well in my semi-final match. I shot really well in the bronze medal match and had a lot of fun. I would like to thank FITA for the marvelous show today and the great effort with the World Cup all year long. I will now go home, spend time with my family and start looking forward to the next season.   Alison Williamson (GBR), 4th place in Recurve Women: I did my best but it wasn’t good enough today. It was a spectacular show in the heart of these pyramids. As long as I have the desire inside me, I will keep shooting. I hope to be back at this level of competition.   Tom Dielen, FITA Secretary General: On one side, we are very happy with the show we put together at this World Cup Final. It was a challenge to organize such an event and a live TV production in the heart of pyramids in Mexico. We did it ! The archers and the fans loved it and the TV images are great. On the other side, we are very disappointed that the INAH management, the institute responsible for the Mayapan site, backed down at the very last minute of their promises. They didn’t allow us to give the sponsors’ visibility that they agreed on previously. We are now inquiring about subsequent actions and we’ll make absolutely sure this will never happened again. We faced the last minute situation of cancelling this great show or to keep going without all the sponsoring visibility we wanted. We chose the first option, because this showcase and this live TV coverage of the World Cup were important for the long-term success of archery. We apologize to our sponsors, namely Meteksan, KIA Motors, Turkish Airlines, Balmain Swiss Watches and Swiss Timing, and we hope they will keep supporting us in the future.   Didier Miéville FITA Communication