1400-shooter Hamm returning to USA team for indoor worlds

USA Archery has announced its team for the 2018 World Archery Indoor Championships, due to take place on home soil in Yankton, South Dakota in February. The 24-athlete strong senior and junior squad includes outdoor legend Mary Hamm, compound-turned-recurve archer Crystal Gauvin, and four-time Hyundai Archery World Cup Champion Brady Ellison.

Hamm, whose maiden name was Zorn, became the first compound woman in history to score than 1400 points on the 1440 Round when she shot 1401 at the US nationals in 2003.

She won the outdoor World Archery Championships that same year in New York, and was individual indoor world champion in 2001, 2005 and 2009, the latter being the last time she competed internationally.

Crystal Gauvin was silver medallist at the outdoor worlds in Copenhagen in 2015 as a compound archer. At the end of 2016, she made the switch to recurve – and Yankton will be her international debut with her new bowstyle.

“My number one goal for the year was achieved tonight,” Gauvin wrote on Instagram. “It was definitely not easy but I fought until the final arrow to earn my spot.”

World number five Brady Ellison, who was third at the world indoors in 2016, qualified as the top recurve man at selections in Florida, dropping just two points through 25 sets (75 arrows) of matchplay at the tournament.

Jack Williams, Vic Wunderle, Mackenzie Brown, Tatyana Muntyan, Jesse Broadwater, Tate Morgan, Kris Schaff, Paige Pearce-Gore and Breanna Theodore complete the USA senior team for Yankton 2018.

Cassidy Cox, Athena Caiopoulos, Anna Scarbrough, Ethan King, Curtis Broadnax, Zachary Harris, Trenton Cowles, Seth McWherter, Adam Heidt, Inga Pever, Jennifer Kim and Katherine Wu will shoot in the junior events.

The 2018 World Archery Indoor Championships take place on 14-18 February in Yankton, USA.