21 April 2009 - Unexpected winners at the European Grand Prix in Riom

Unexpected winners at the European Grand Prix in Riom Lausanne - 21 April 2009   On 15–18 April 2009, archers from 17 countries competed in Riom (FRA) for the season’s first European Grand Prix. It was the opportunity for new archers to discover international competition while it was the start of the outdoor season for others. The event enjoyed the presence of the reigning Olympic champion Viktor RUBAN, but the Ukrainian suffered an early defeat in 1/8 elimination. All four categories gave unexpected winners with Kheshegto GOMBOEV (RUS) in recurve men, Magali FOULON (ESP) in recurve women, Jose Ignacio CATALAN (ESP) in compound men and Joanna CHESSE (FRA) in compound women.   Recurve Men The individual eliminations of the first European Archery Grand Prix of the year reserved a big surprise with the elimination of the Olympic champion Victor RUBAN (UKR) in the 1/8 elimination round by the young Belgian archer Nico THIRY. Another young archer Florian CHIENNO (FRA) created another surprise by defeating Michele FRANGILLI (ITA) in the 1/16 eliminations. In the gold final, the 18-year old Kheshegto GOMBOEV (RUS) photo defeated the Olympian Daniel MORILLO (ESP) 108-106. The Frenchman Franck FISSEUX easily took the bronze over THIRY 111-103.   Recurve Women In the afternoon, the sunny and calm weather turned to storm and the youngest archer of the French team, Sandra FONBONNAT, aged 17, won her 1/8 elimination match against a teammate, the coming back archer Severine EVANGELISTI. In quarterfinal, FONBONNAT lost to the no. 1 seeded archer from qualifications Viktoriya KOVAL (UKR), 100–101. The Ukrainian went on to the gold final where she was defeated 107-110 by Magali FOULON (ESP) photo. The Spaniard’s best international result so far had been an 18th place at the European Grand Prix in Athens in 2006. The bronze medal was for another lady from Spain with Beatriz CABRERO beating one of the favourites, Malgorzata CWIENCZEK (POL), 106-104.   Compound Men In the compound men’s category the gold medal went to an experienced archer. The 51-year old Spaniard Jose Ignacio CATALAN photo—who is now ranked 202nd in the World Ranking list but was 2nd in 2002—won the gold final over Stefano MAZZI (ITA), 112-111. The bronze medal was for another Italian, Herian BOCCALI, who took over another Spaniard, Victor CANALEJAS, 112-110.   Compound Women The local fans had grounds for cheering with the victory of their fellow countrywoman Joanna CHESSE photo in compound women. Victorious over Gladys WILLEMS (BEL) in semi-final, 114-113, CHESSE clinched the title 113-110 facing another favourite competitor Albina LOBINOVA (RUS) in the gold final. WILLEMS won the bronze after defeating Svetlana CHERKASHNEVA (RUS) in a shoot-off.   The finals of the European Grand Prix in Riom were broadcast pre-recorded on Orange Sport Event. The Orange viewers as well as the net surfers could follow all individual finals. This broadcast was carried out within the scope of the partnership between the French National Olympic Committee (CNOSF) and Orange, in co-production with the French Archery Federation (FFTA).   All info and results on:   Ø www.ffta.fr Ø www.arc-riom.com   FITA Communication