Britain’s Gibson breaks European qualifying record with 711

Ella Gibson scored 711 out of a possible 720 for the 72-arrow 50-metre qualifying round at the Arizona Cup yesterday to break the compound women’s European record by one point, subject to ratification by World Archery Europe.

“Pretty great weather with just a bit of wind in the second half to account for,” wrote the 21-year-old Brit on her Facebook page.

“After being certain I missed out on the record (thinking I matched it) I got a pleasant surprise when a friend informed me that I was actually wrong… So really happy with that.” 

Dutch archer Jody Beckers (née Vermeulen) had held the record at 710 since 2019.

The world record of 713 points is currently held by Colombian world number one Sara Lopez.

This is the latest big achievement for an ascendent Gibson, who is up to 13th in the world ranking, recently won the European Indoor Championships, and was runner-up at the European Championships outdoors in 2021.

Once the score is ratified, Gibson will hold four of the nine continental records available for compound women in the discipline of outdoor archery. She also owns the 1440 Round record (1419/1440) and associated 60-metre (358) and 30-metre (360 26X) records.

The 358-point score for 36 arrows at 60 metres is also the current world record.

Ella is scheduled to open her international outdoor season at the first stage of the 2022 Hyundai Archery World Cup on 18-24 April in Antalya, Turkey.