Compounder Sara Lopez is missing two big titles from her resume – just two – the World Games and a senior crown at the World Archery Championships.
In Copenhagen, Sara is off to a good start if she wants to tick the latter off her list.
Earlier this year, Lopez established a new world record for the 72-arrow compound ranking round and the 15-arrow match, shot over 50 metres.
Ahead of her preparation for the Youth Worlds in Yankton – where she was out in quarterfinals but won gold in the mixed team with Camilo Cardona – Lopez repeated that world best score a number of times.
Coming from Pereira, a Colombian city in which spring weather is a characteristic – the average temperature is 26 degrees Celsius – she has found conditions in Copenhagen difficult.
“It’s so cold and dark that during the second half I couldn’t see much,” Sara said.
Her poor visibility didn’t seem much of an obstacle as she posted the highest compound women’s score on the field and took the top seed over the ranking round.
Based on her unlucky experience with the peep sight in Yankton – when it blocked in rainy conditions – Sara doesn’t want to leave anything to chance.
“Weather was tough, strong. It was very cold – but I learnt so much from Yankton, that I came here prepared for everything.”
Sara led the qualification round from beginning to end, finishing up with 698 points. Dane Tanja Jensen and France’s Amelie Sancenot followed her, seven and eleven points behind, respectively.
“The shots were feeling really good and they just hit the 10,” said Jensen, though admitting she had no free pass to the podium with the high ranking. “It’s not usually the top three seeds that make it to the finals.”
The defending World Champion Colombian compound women team were ranked number one with 2013 points – same as Russia – but Colombia had one more X.
Korea and United States followed in fourth and fifth.
Lopez and Camilo Cardona, Colombia’s highest scoring compound man, took the top mixed team seed as well.
“I came here to win the worlds as I haven’t win it,” a visibly determined Sara said. “If the mixed and the women’s team titles came as well, it would be simply amazing!”
Sara and Camilo have shot as a pair for the last five years, before and longer than Lopez’ international career to date. Just one month ago in Yankton, the couple won youth mixed team gold for the second time in a row.
Coming for the same city, representing the same country and being good friends make things much easier, they said.
“After Yankton was finished we had a clear goal,” said Camilo: “Let’s go and win the seniors!”
Individually, Cardona was a strong 10th over the compound men’s ranking round – with 687 total.
India’s Abhishek Verma was top, 10 points ahead of Camilo. Kim Jongho – Korean winner of the Archery World Cup stage in Antalya in 2015 – was second and the USA’s Braden Gellenthien landed third.
Home nation archer and 2013 Archery World Cup Champion Martin Damsbo put in his best qualifying performance for a while, finishing seventh.
“I only had 111 points with my first 12 arrows. The shafts landed just outside the 10 so many times that I was really starting to almost get frustrated,” said Martin. “But you have to fight all the way until the last arrow.”
While the first two elimination rounds take place on Wednesday, Martin will ride a top-eight bye into Thursday’s third elimination phase.
“I won’t call it a free pass but it’s also good to have one day off to train, just to relax a little bit.”
“We still need to be out in the field to shoot because none of these guys came here to sleep. If you want to win, you’ve got to stay on top of the game!”
