Shanghai, China - Jamie Van Natta (OH), who has several world records to her name, can now add two more of the coveted World Archery record certificates to her collection: she first broke the individual world record with her qualification score of 703 at the Archery World Cup in Shanghai, China today, a record Van Natta set earlier this year at the Gold Cup in Bloomfield, NJ.
With teammates Diane Watson (FL), who shot a 698 to qualify second, and Christie Colin (PA), qualifying third with her score of 694, Van Natta then clinched her second world record of the day with the team's number one qualifying score of 2095. Team USA's Erika Anschutz (TX), who has already secured her spot in the World Cup Final in Istanbul later this month, qualified 10th with 684. After Team USA's number one ranking, Italy and France qualified second and third.
The U.S. compound men's team also enjoyed success during the ranking round, though Pierre Deloche of France proved "the surprise of the day," according to World Archery, shooting a 708 to qualify number one. He was followed closely by Martin Damsbo (DEN), one point out with a 707, and USA's Rodger Willett, Jr. (VA), looking for an unprecedented World Cup season sweep, and shooting a 704 for third.
While Willett is already qualified for the Final in Istanbul, his teammates are still in the hunt for those sought-after spots. Braden Gellenthien (VA) shot a 702 to end the day in fifth place, while brothers Reo Wilde (ID) and Logan Wilde (UT) shot socores of 702 and 700 to qualify sixth and seventh, respectively. With their top scores, the U.S. compound men's team qualified number one, followed by India and Australia, and the team of Willett and Van Natta qualified on top for the mixed event as well.
In the recurve men's category, Brady Ellison (AZ) dominated the first 36 arrows with a 341; though the number one world ranked archer was seventh on the back half, he still shot well enough to qualify number one with 676. China's Xing Yu ended his qualification round just behind Ellison with a 674, while Mexico's Luis Velez Sanchez pushed into the third spot with 671.
U.S. teammate Jake Kaminski (CA) shot a 664 to secure the ninth spot in the recurve men's rankings, while fellow Resident Athlete Joe Fanchin ended his day in fourteenth place, scoring a 659. Jacob Wukie, the U.S. Olympic Team Alternate for 2008, shot a 628 to qualify 46th. With their scores, the U.S. men's team qualified first, ahead of China and Mexico.
For the recurve women, it was Team USA's four-time Olympian, Khatuna Lorig (CA), who shot well enough to propel herself to a fifth place qualification, shooting a 656. She was joined in the top fifteen by Resident Athlete Holly Stover (MI) showing emerging talent on the World Cup scene with a 13th place finish and a 645. Fellow Resident Athletes Heather Koehl (WI) and Kristin Braun (CA) ranked 39th and 42nd, with scores of 621 and 615, respectively.
Top qualifiers in this category were Italy's Natalia Valeeva, with a 663 for the first spot; Deepika Kumari (IND), shooting a 658 for second, and France's Berengere Schuh, who shot a 657 to qualify third. The performances by Lorig, Stover and Koehl were enough to earn the U.S. team a sixth place ranking; India, China and Italy took the top three spots. In the mixed team event, however, the scores from Lorig and Ellison helped them achieve a number one ranking.
The mixed team eliminations began today as well, with teams shooting through the bronze medal matches. The recurve team of Lorig and Ellison started out strong and never looked back, shooting their way through several matches, and clinching a berth in Saturday's gold medal final with a semifinal victory versus France, 151-146. On the compound side, Van Natta and Willett brought home the team's first medal of the week, with a compound mixed team bronze medal win versus tough opponents from Italy, 158-155.
The U.S. team is supported by a full coaching and team leadership staff at this event, including coaches Guy Krueger and Mel Nichols, and team leaders Cindy Bevilacqua and Julie Nichols. USA Archery thanks the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Easton Foundations for their support of the U.S. teams at this event. For scores and live results, visit http://www.archery.org, and follow USA Archery on Facebook and Twitter for coverage and updates throughout the week.
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