Statement regarding appeal of result of women’s team final in Cortina

This statement relates to the women’s team gold medal match at the 2018 World Archery Field Championships in Cortina, Italy between Germany and Italy.

At the conclusion of the match, in which the team from Italy had the highest score over four targets, the German team lodged an appeal against the distances that were identified on the pegs on target number three.

The jury that investigated the appeal found that while the pegs had been set at 10 (blue) and 15 (red) metres, the number on the pegs had indicated 15 (blue) and 20 (red) metres.

While the pegs had been checked by the judges, the measurements had been added afterwards and not subsequently checked again by the judges.

As a result, and according to procedure, the third target was deemed invalid and removed from the result of the women’s team gold medal match. This meant the final score of the match was 32-29 in favour of Germany, and the medals were reallocated before the awards ceremony.

World Archery Secretary General Tom Dielen said: “This is a regrettable situation in any competition, let alone the final of a world championships, and not a comfortable result for either team.”

“The issue has been dealt with according to the rules. It will now be taken forward with the field and judge committees within World Archery to prevent such a situation occurring again.”

The 2018 World Archery Field Championships take place in Cortina, Italy on 4-9 September.