Picture courtesy USA Archery.
Two thirds of the United States’ recurve men’s team competed at the World Archery Youth Championships earlier in the summer – but that did not stop the pair beating out far more experienced competition to take top seeds at the Pan American Games in Toronto.
Zach Garrett, making his USA team debut in 2014, led the charge, posting an impressive 673 to secure a first place in qualifying.
His 19-year-old teammate Collin Klimitchek was just four points behind.
The most experienced member of the States squad, three-time Archery World Cup Champion and Olympic team silver medallist Brady Ellison, crossed the line in third, on 664 points.
Just behind Brady and on the same points was the archer he beat to his most recent World Cup title at Lausanne 2014. Marcus D’Almeida, Brazil’s archery prodigy and the youngest athlete to ever make a World Cup Final – let alone medal – also had 664 but trailed Ellison on 10 count.
The average age of the top four men’s seeds in Toronto: Just 20.5.
Top three in individual, top trio qualifying: The USA men led Mexico, a promising Cuban squad and Canada in team totals.
As the qualifying stage of previous editions of the Pan American Games used the World Archery 1440 Round, both the individual and team top seeds set new Games records in Toronto.
Alejandra Valencia and Aida Roman shared the recurve women’s record after both finishing on 655 points, four ahead of the the USA’s Khatuna Lorig and their third Mexican teammate, Karla Hinojosa.
Roman won silver at the London 2012 Olympics and the Archery World Cup Final in 2014.
The Mexican women were comfortably on top of the team leaderboard. Their 1961 combined total was a full 41 points ahead of Khatuna’s States squad.
Barcelona 1992 Olympic medallist Lorig recently made headlines by posing for ESPN Magazine’s famous body issue.
Competition at the archery event at the 2015 Pan American runs until Saturday 18 July in Toronto.
