COPENHAGEN, Denmark - "Come on Crystal, you have to shoot all bullseyes!" cheered celebrity coach Braden Gellenthien (Hudson Massachussets) to Crystal Gauvin (Dayville, Connecticut) as she stepped up to the shooting line at Christiansborg Palace. But no pressure, Gauvin was just competing for gold at the World Archery Championships Finals in front of a sold out crowd.
Gauvin outshot No. 1 ranked Sara Lopez of Colombia in the semifinals to shoot for gold against Kim Yun Hee of Korea who was shooting for her country's first gold medal in this event. Kim accomplished her goal taking a small lead and increasing the gap as the match continued. With a three-point deficit, Gauvin took the silver.
Lopez commented on her semifinal match against Gauvin: "When I shot against Crystal, she won. It was good, very tough match and she's one of the archers I have always admired in archery."
This is the only second time since 2005 that the compound men's gold final has not featured a U.S. archer and this tournament was definitely a struggle for some of the U.S. competitors.
Khatuna Lorig (West Hollywood, California), who was eliminated in the 1/8th earlier this week commented: "I'm pretty sure it's my equipment. It should have a second look because the same bow was shooting really well but I have been having problems. I'm focusing on good shots, good shooting but I'm still disappointed I didn't make it through to any of the medal matches."
The recurve archers will still have a chance for a medal as the trio of Brady Ellison (Globe, Arizona), Collin Klimitchek (Victoria, Texas) and Zach Garrett (Wellington, Missouri) who qualified Team USA for a full three slots in Rio will shoot for team bronze tomorrow.
The World Archery Championships was the first event for archers to secure quota slots for their teams. While Lorig sealed one slot for the women. The women will have to wait until the World Cup in Antalya next June to try again to qualify a full team. See all the qualified slots here.
The recurve men's match will be available on live stream tomorrow here. For complete results from the World Archery Championships so far, check out the event page here. For more updates from the field, follow USA Archery on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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