The silver medallist at the World Archery Indoor Championships in Ankara in 2016, Cassidy Cox is poised to go one better in Yankton. The 19-year-old archer from New Mexico qualified second in the compound junior women’s event with 583, just a point behind Elisa Roner of Italy.
Some strong final ends on both halves saw her leap to the top spots.
Cox was part of the USA’s winning team in Yankton at the 2015 World Archery Youth Championships.
“I’m hoping for good results this time, too. We qualified really strong today, so I’m hoping we’ll do something later. Last time I shot the world indoor championships I got second, so I'm hoping for better results this time,” she said.
Cox won a senior team gold on the Hyundai Archery World Cup circuit in Berlin in 2017, and represented the US at the World Archery Championships in Mexico City.
“I want to be over there with the seniors; they’re all my friends. But shooting’s shooting, so I’m just trying to do my best in the juniors, too," said Cox.
Now more experienced than her colleagues on the under-21 line, Cassidy said she plans on shooting last in the team rotation, acting as a strong anchor – in something of a new role.
“We were going over the rules together and I was explaining it to them and so on. I'm not the captain, but I’m the oldest one here, I suppose. It’s weird, because I’m normal the youngest one,” she explained.
Like many archers here, Cox came straight from Las Vegas, but didn’t quite manage the heights of 2017 where she finished fourth in both the Indoor Archery World Cup Final and The Vegas Shoot.
“I was seventh in the world cup final and 14th for the Vegas Shoot. I always hope to do better than last year of course, and last year I set the bar pretty high. I had a good first match, but the second one wasn't so good,” she said.
With room to rise in an archery career of increasing focus, Cassidy has had a bow in her hand since the age of six.
“With archery, I like that I can compete both individually and with a team, but I like the fact that Im the one shooting the bow, I don't have to rely on anyone else when I'm shooting individually,” she said.
“I want to win a world championships. That’s one of the goals that I have. It means a lot that [this tournament] is here in the USA, because my dad is going to come and watch, which he doesn’t get to do for a lot of international events, so I'm excited to have him here.”
“And I’ve got all my teammates here with me, so I’m feeling more comfortable on home soil.”
The 2018 World Archery Indoor Championships takes place in Yankton, USA on 14-19 February.
