PILSEN, Czech Republic – Kevin Polish and Matt Stutzman have won bronze for the United States in the compound men open doubles at the World Archery Para Championships.
The pair defeated Leos Bartos and Tomas Vrzal of the Czech Republic with a 149-140 victory on Saturday.
Opening with a score of 38, to the Czech’s 32, Polish and Stutzman never looked back. The duo will depart the Czech Republic with a medal but the new world record they set on Friday is now in the hands of China.
Polish and Stutzman had combined for a score of 156 in their quarterfinal win over Fernando Gale Montorio and Adrian Martinez Torre, the doubles team from Spain whose world record they beat. In winning the gold medal on Saturday, the Chinese team of Ai Xinliang and He Zihao went one better in their 157-150 success over Iran.
The World Archery Para Championships draw to a close on Sunday, with Paralympic champion Kevin Mather in the final match of the day, facing Ruslan Tsymbaliuk for the recurve men open world title.
Tsymbaliuk is the 34th seed, managing 586 in qualification, compared to Mather’s 624, but the archer from Ukraine – like Mather – has come through some tough matches, including a 6-4 win over number two seed Lixue Zhao (CHN) in the 1/16 round.
Mather’s path to the final included victory over the fourth seeded Stefano Travisani (ITA), followed by fifth seed Jun Gan (CHN). The number 13 seeded Mather had to hold his nerve in the semifinal before seeing of Iranian archer Mohammed Reza Arab Ameri (IRI) in a one arrow shootoff.
With success for Polish and Stutzman, Team USA is guaranteed two medals from these championships, as well as three quota slots for next year’s Paralympic Games in Paris. Those places were won on Thursday, with one in the recurve men open and two in the compound men open.
