BERLIN, Germany – Alexis Ruiz and Sawyer Sullivan will be going for gold in the compound mixed team event on Friday at the World Archery Championships where they will face Colombia.
The ninth seeds from the USA came through matches against Slovakia, Poland, top seeds India and the Netherlands on Wednesday to reach the last two. A shootoff was required to get past Poland in the 1/8th round, with the USA winning 19-18.
Colombia’s pairing of Sebastian Arenas and Sara Lopez needed a shootoff at the same stage, the point they entered the competition, overcoming Chinese Taipei 20-19 before wins over Estonia and Luxembourg set up their meeting with Ruiz and Sullivan.
The compound women’s team of Liko Arreola, Olivia Dean and Ruiz were knocked out at the quarterfinals stage by Colombia, having defeated Kazakhstan in their opening match. The men’s team of Sullivan, Nick Kappers and Kris Schaff were edged out by the Netherlands 230-228 in the 1/8th round.
As with the compound women, the recurve women’s trio of Catalina GNoriega, Casey Kaufhold and Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez also fell short at the quarterfinals. After a shootoff win over Georgia (5-4) and 6-2 victory over Chinese Taipei, the USA went down 5-3 to third seeds Germany.
There was yet more quarterfinal agony in the recurve mixed team, involving Kaufhold and Brady Ellison. A 5-1 win over Indonesia put them up against Italy, who won through 6-0.
Italy also put paid to the recurve men’s team of Ellison, Jackson Mirich and Jack Williams in the 1/8th round, winning by the same scoreline.
Individual eliminations will dominate day three on Thursday, with quota spots for next year’s Olympic Games in Paris the aim for the recurve archers.
Mirich and Williams begin at the 1/48th round. Mirich meets Jeff Henckels (LUX), while Williams faces Nicholas D’Amour of the US Virgin Islands. Ellison enters at the 1/16th round, tackling the winner of Jorge Enriquez (COL) versus Andres Temino (ESP).
On the recurve women’s side, all three USA archers are involved at the 1/48th round. Kaufhold plays Urantungalag Bishindee (MGL), Mucino-Fernandez goes up against Nurul Izzah Mazlan (MAS) and GNoriega aims to overcome Diya Siddique (BAN).
As with the Paralympic Games qualification process, quota spots do not go to the individual archer or team, rather to the country. To select athletes to the U.S. team quota slots, USA Archery hosts a multi-stage U.S. Team Olympic Trials.
On the compound side, Ruiz will go into Thursday’s elimination rounds at the 1/24th round in the women’s division, with Kanoknapus Kaewchomphu (THA) or Inga Timinskiene (LTU) the opponent.
Olivia Dean and Liko Arreola start at the 1/48th stage. Dean meets Anna Maria Alfredsdottir (ISL) and Arreola starts against Giselle De Sousa (POR).
For the men, Sullivan plays Bunyod Mirzametov (KAZ), Schaff tackles Akbarali Karabayev (KAZ) and Kappers goes against Mads Haugseth (NOR). All start at the 1/48th round.
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