Stephan Hansen was on point from the very start of his gold final.
It was a gold final that would give him a third straight world champion title, if he won, after the cadet crown he won at Legnica 2011 and the junior gold from Wuxi, two years previous.
Strangely, Hansen had even pocketed the release that had carried him so far into the tournament and taken out a back tension for this one match.
“This was the first competition I ever shot using one,” Stephan said.
No matter the equipment, his first three arrows out of the block: X-X-X. Hansen meant business.
The Fresh Prince’s one-point lead extended to two after the second end and, as world record holder for the 15-arrow match David Houser was putting too many into the nine, Hansen remained a step ahead.
His arrows drifted off dead-centre as the match progressed and kept landing around the edge of the 10-ring – but most were touching, and that’s what mattered.
Hansen was three points up after nine and 12 arrows. It was a big advantage to take into the final straight; too much for the USA’s David Houser to recover from.
The Viking finished it in poetic style: Three 10s – to go with his three youth world titles, won over the last three championships!
“I trusted myself and went for it,” said Stephan, after the match. “I knew I could do it.”
“Three times in a row is just… great!”
Domajog Buden stole compound junior men’s bronze by beating Croatian teammate Mario Vavro, 143-142.
Vavro needed a 10 with his last arrow to win the match but shot an eight!
Mirroring that all-Croatian bronze clash, the compound junior women’s final was contested between two athletes from the same country. Tanja Jensen and Sara Holst Sonnichsen had already guaranteed gold for Denmark, but still needed to work out their spots on the podium.
Aside from an eight from Sarah to start the match, both Danes kept their arrows within the gold.
Tanja was more consistent, leading from start to finish and never once shooting less than her teammate and opponent. After 15 arrows, she had with a comfortable three-point advantage.
Final score: 145-142.
Jensen said the match could have gone either way: “Sarah and I have shot against each other so many times before. Maybe that was the reason I was not as nervous as I usually am!”
Ukraine’s Mariya Shkolna beat Valeria Zamora, from Mexico, to junior women’s bronze.
Danish pair Hansen and Jensen also had a silver medal from the mixed team event. They narrowly lost the junior final to Colombia in a high-scoring battle, 154-153, earlier in the day.
