USA double shocks Olympic Champion Korea in Medellin

The USA compound and recurve mixed teams are into their respective gold medal matches at the fourth stage of the 2022 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Medellin. In the compound final, Denmark is the opponent; while for the recurves, it’s Chinese Taipei.

“It feels good,” said Casey Kaufhold, who upset Olympic champions An San and Kim Je Deok in the recurve mixed team semifinals with partner Jack Williams.

The dramatic match saw the States duo tie a Korean surge in the third set, both teams shooting 39 points to leave the score at three set points apiece. Kaufhold then delivered the match-winning final arrow, a 10, to win the fourth set, 38-36, and the match, 5-3.

“I was just looking in the scope, I looked over at their target and saw that we were up a couple of points,” explained Williams. “Casey didn’t need to shoot a 10 [but] I just saw her arrow drop right in and I knew that was the gold medal match.”

“We've shot a lot of matches against Korea, so it feels good to finally win one,” added Kaufhold. “Last time I shot against them in the mixed team was here in Colombia and [it was] the gold medal match [in 2019]. Unfortunately, we lost in the shoot-off, but it feels good to beat them in the semifinals this year.”

Williams admitted the duo had to be in top form against the Koreans, who had completely dominated recurve qualification earlier this week.

“It was a very tough match going in. We knew that they could shoot good and that we had to be on our game and we were today,” he said.

Kaufhold only won her first gold medal on the international circuit last month in Paris. That was in the mixed team event as well, shooting with Brady Ellison, where she also delivered the final shot to win. She’s now secured another medal – which one will be decided on Sunday.

“I am super happy and I'm pretty familiar with the stage now,” said the 18-year-old, who was also runner-up at the last worlds. “I’ve been up there a couple times and so has Jack. We will be really strong in the final.”

From an archer early in her career to one looking towards the end.

Linda Ochoa-Anderson has a chance to finish her journey on the Hyundai Archery World Cup with one last win. The long-time international, formerly of Mexico and now shooting for the USA, has said she’ll retire from the circuit after this year.

Paired with former World Archery Champion Jimmy Lutz, Ochoa was instrumental in beating Mexico in a semifinal tiebreak after the two squads tied at 154-154.

“We’ve never shot together so it was pretty cool to shoot with a new partner. He shoots really fast which helps me because sometimes I aim forever,” said Ochoa-Anderson. Medellin is her 40th stage of the international circuit.

“To do [it] with Linda is just awesome,” said Lutz, looking towards finishing with a win. “If this is her final World Cup, it’d be really special.”

Awaiting them in the final will be the Danish duo of Tanja Gellenthien and Mathias Fullerton, who defeated Korea, 155-154, in their semifinal.

Competition in Medellin continues on Friday with recurve elimination rounds in the afternoon.

Mixed team finals: Medellin 2022

The compound mixed team medal matches are scheduled for Saturday 23 July. The recurve mixed team medal matches are scheduled for Sunday 24 July.

Compound

• Gold medal match: USA versus Denmark
• Bronze medal match: Mexico versus Korea

Recurve

• Gold medal match: USA versus Chinese Taipei
• Bronze medal match: Korea versus Brazil