USA tops Yankton medal table after securing team titles
The USA topped the medal table at its home World Archery Indoor Championships in Yankton, South Dakota, with five gold medals, one silver and two bronzes, ahead of the Netherlands on three gold medals and Russia and Germany on two each.
All four of the States compound squads, junior and senior, took world crowns – the ninth time each of the senior teams has taken gold at the world indoors.
Paige Gore, Breanna Theodore and Mary Hamm beat Natalia Avdeeva, Alexandra Savenkova and Viktoria Balzhanova of Russia by a seven points, 233-226, in the compound women’s final.
“We all had a great attitude; shots were going where they needed to be. Couldn't ask for anything better,” said Breanna.
The USA women scored 119 out of a possible 120 points over the back 12 arrows to secure the win.
Kris Schaff, Tate Morgan and Jesse Broadwater beat Italy’s Sergio Pagni, Alberto Simonelli and Viviano Mior, 235-234, in a tight compound men’s team gold medal match.
“We had that one end where we all missed one, we shot three 10s and then followed up with three nines, and you know, that's not like us,” said Schaff. “We shot 239 to get here and I figured we were a good enough team to shoot a 240.”
The States started with a perfect 60 before those three nines dropped things level. Two closing 59-point ends were enough to take the match.
"I had total confidence that we would come away with the gold medal. When we shot our trials and figured out that this was the team, I thought: these guys shoot good,” said Jesse.
“We were working well as a team and for a first time together, I think we did great – and it'd be cool to do it again someday.”
Both the USA’s compound men and women are the most winning squads at the World Archery Indoor Championships in its history, each taking nine of the 12 available titles since the team event was introduced in 1995.
(Neither team, though, arrived in Yankton as the defending champion.)
To complete the USA’s medal haul, Athena Caiopoulos, Cassidy Cox and Anna Scarbrough took compound junior women’s gold ahead of Canada, and Curtis Broadnax, Zachary Harris and Ethan King became compound junior men’s world team champions over Australia.
The USA’s fifth and only individual gold medal came courtesy Cassidy Cox in the individual compound junior women’s event.
Curtis Broadnax won compound junior men’s individual silver, Jesse Broadwater also took compound men’s bronze and the States’ recurve junior men’s team of Trenton Cowles, Adam Heidt and Seth McWherter also finished third.
The 2018 World Archery Indoor Championships took place in Yankton, USA on 14-19 February.
