Expectations high, says Ricardo Soto on Rosario 2017

One year removed from a ninth place finish at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Chilean recurve archer Ricardo Soto is back on the competition field. This time he’s shooting as a junior at the 2017 World Archery Youth Championships in Rosario, Argentina – and it’s an event at which he expects to secure his biggest achievement to date.

“I came here with the wish to get an important prize, to be in the top eight for sure and win a medal, if possible,” said Ricardo, the youngest archer at the last Olympics. 

“I don’t like to say it but I probably have more experience, more competitions in my body, which can be an advantage over other archers.”

A Pan American Champion in the cadet division in 2016 in Costa Rica, Ricardo has only twice finished outside of the top 20 through his three-year international career (including senior events).

“What has helped me to stay in form is basically doing my work and being consistent. One of my qualities is to be consistent with my scores and this has allowed me to finish in the same positions and be very stable,” said Soto.

“This sport is very individual and the winner is whoever performs better on the day. You are not competing against anybody in particular, so I came here to do my job.”

Rosario marks Ricardo’s third world event of the season.

He competed at the Hyundai Archery World Cup stages in Salt Lake City and Berlin earlier in the year, where he finished 17th and ninth, respectively.

The 2017 World Archery Youth Championships run 2 to 10 October in Rosario, Argentina.