1 August 2007 - Extraordinary Scores at the Qualifications in Dover

Extraordinary Scores at the Qualifications in Dover Dover - 1 August 2007   The qualifications for all categories took place today in Stage 4 of the Meteksan Archery World Cup 2007 in Dover, Great Britain. The competition in Dover is the final leg of the year and will decide on who will qualify for the Grand Final in November. The Chinese lady Zhang shot the highest Recurve score ever on the British territory, while the American man Gellenthien went over the 1400 barrier!   In total the archers shot four rounds of 36 arrows at four distances today: -    90, 70, 50 and 30 metres for men -   70, 60, 50 and 30 metres for women   Recurve MenAt the end of the qualifications the Italian archer Di Buo ranked first in Recurve Men. His final score was 1330 points. Closing the gap thanks to the best scores both at 50m and 30m, Rohrberg (GER) finished qualification on 1326 and will be seeded no. 2. Trailing by only one point in 3rd place was local archer Terry (GBR). Also close was the Italian Nespoli on 1324.   In the team event Italy proved the most consistent team finishing ahead with a total of 3968 points. Thirty-two points behind in 2nd position was the host nation Great Britain (3936). Germany finished 3rd on 3897 points, twenty points ahead of 4th team China on 3877.   Recurve WomenAfter shooting the best scores in Recurve Women at the first three distances, the 2006 World Cup winner Zhang (CHN) finished no. 1 of the Dover qualifications with an amazing total score of 1372 out of a possible 1440. This is the highest score ever shot in Great Britain and the second highest of the year in a FITA competition after that of Park S. H. (KOR) at the Leipzig World Championships just a few weeks ago. At 50m the Chinese even beat the men’s highest score at that distance: she scored 340, while her male counterparts Rohrberg (GER) and Di Buo (ITA) shot 338.   Needless to say that with 1372 points Zhang finished with a more than comfortable lead over her first pursuer, being 27 points better than the Indian Banerjee (1345). The Polish lady Cwiencek was 3rd on 1340, the Ukrainian Koval 4th on 1335 and another Pole Mospinek was eventually 5th on 1333.   Very tight scores in the Recurve Women team competition: India finished 1st on 3970, just one point better than the 2nd team, Poland on 3969. Thanks to Zhang’s great score, China was 3rd on a total of 3958. Italy was 4th (3935) and Ukraine 5th (3929).   Compound MenAnother great score was shot in the Compound Men category where Gellenthien shot a 144-arrow total of 1404, four points above the “magical” 1400 barrier! The local archer White (GBR) almost reached it as well, eventually finishing on 1398 points. Behind these two, one can find a bunch of famous names, such as Jimenez (ESA) 3rd, Brasseur (FRA) 4th, Hofer (SUI) 5th, Boe (NOR) 6th, Freeman (AUS) 7th and the two Dutch archers Elzinga and Custers, respectively 8th and 9th.   Gellenthien’s score made the difference for team USA finishing 1st with a total of 4157 points. The local team was trailed in 2nd place on 4139, while Switzerland took the 3rd position on 4074. Slovenia followed closely on a total score of 4068, leaving the teams of Indonesia (4030), Belgium (4028), Venezuela (4017) and Turkey (4006) a long way off.   Compound Women The experienced Ericsson (SWE) was certainly the most constistent archer of this category. She shot the 3rd, 2nd, 5th and 1st scores at each of the four distances respectively to finish with a total score of 1388, thereby maintaining a 14-point advantage over the 2nd ranked lady, the Belgium Willems (1374). The American, Van Natta, ranked 3rd with 1371 points, while 2006 World Cup winner Goncharova (RUS) finished 4th on 1366. Van Natta’s team-mate Davis took the 5th position (1363) and Goncharova’s fellow countrywoman Loginova was 6th (1358).   Only four teams entered the Compound Women team event in Dover, and thus there will be no elimination rounds for them on Friday. They will go directly to the semi-finals on Sunday. Finishing 1st on 4051 points, Venezuela will be facing the 4th team, Great Britain (3992). The second seeded Indonesia (4007) will compete against the 3rd team Turkey (3997)   Tomorrow will feature the Individual Elimination Rounds. The Recurve Men and Women categories will start in the morning and will be followed by the Compound division in the afternoon. The competition will resume at 9:00 am at the Duke of York Royal Military School of Dover.   Ludivine Maitre Wicki FITA Communication