COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Monday marks the beginning of the 2015 World Archery Championships. This prestigious tournament is the recurve archers' chance to qualify for slots in the 2016 Olympics, so the beginning days of the competition, qualification and team eliminations, will be incredibly important.
The recurve team boasts two world-class veterans: five-time Olympian and Olympic bronze medalist Khatuna Lorig (West Hollywood, California), and Brady Ellison (Globe, Arizona), a two time Olympian who boasts an Olympic silver medal and an unprecedented three World Cup Final titles. "I think this is going to be another breakout year for me. I really do," commented Ellison.
Joining Lorig are newcomers, Ariel Gibilaro and LaNola Pritchard, (both: Chula Vista, California) both of whom are USA Archery Resident Athletes with World Cup and World Championships experience in youth and indoor events.
Ellison, a gold-medal favorite at the London 2012 Games will be joined by young archers and resident Athletes, Zach Garrett and Collin Klimitchek (both: Chula Vista, California), two rising stars who are getting lots of buzz from archery fans.
Recently nabbing gold at the Pan American Games, Lorig shared: "I try to concentrate on my shot, to make strong shots. I'm really proud of myself and of my teammates' performances. I'm looking forward to shooting in Denmark."
On the compound side, Braden Gellenthien (Hudson, Massachusetts), a World Cup Final champion and World Championships medalist, will be joined by Reo Wilde (Pocatello, Idaho). Wilde, a fiercely talented teammate and equally tough competitor, is also a multi-time World Championships medalist and World Cup Final champion. Together, they'll anchor a team that's rounded out by Alex Wifler (Crete, Illinois), this year's Vegas Champion and a World Archery Youth Championships medalist.
On the women's team, Crystal Gauvin (Dayville, Connecticut) has been leading USA's compound squad in the Archery World Cup series this summer and will compete with a strong duo for these upcoming events. Joining Gauvin: Jamie Van Natta (Toledo, Ohio), a multi-time World Championships medalist and Paige Pearce (Red Bluff, California), the multi-time World Archery Youth Champion.
A detailed schedule and complete results are available here. A live stream of the finals will be available on ArcheryTV. For more updates from the field, follow USA Archery on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Photo: Sarah Higgins
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