Kim, Gibson new end-of-year world #1s as last list of 2022 released

Kim Woojin, An San, Mike Schloesser and Ella Gibson will end the year as the number-one-ranked archers in the world, following the release of the last Sanlida World Archery Ranking lists of 2022 on 26 December.

Olympic Champion An has held the top spot in the recurve women’s list since September 2021 while Schloesser has been the compound men’s world number one since May 2021.

Gibson is a new name, having had a breakout season in which she won all three stages of the Hyundai Archery World Cup in which she competed, the World Games – and finished runner-up to Sara Lopez at her first Hyundai Archery World Cup Final. Lopez was the compound women’s world number one at the end of 2021.

It’s been more than 10 years since Woojin was first named the best recurve man in the world.

He first ascended to the top of the ranking lists in 2011 – after his first world championship win – and had most recently held the number one spot in 2018 before returning there in July of this year and again in November, after a brief resurgence from 2021 leader Brady Ellison following the implementation of the new calculation system.

That update was the most significant ranking-related news in 2022.

Rather than hibernating during the winter season as in previous years, results recorded on the Indoor Archery World Series will offer points towards the world ranking calculation, adding significance to the traditional early-year tournaments in Nimes and Las Vegas.

There’s potential for recurve archers to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on their world ranking – and with the qualifying period starting in the middle of next year, every point could prove crucial.