Elena Osipova breaks European qualification record in Antalya

Russian archer Elena Osipova shot 684 points to break the European record and seed top over recurve women’s qualification on Tuesday at the 2021 European Championships in Antalya.

“I am very happy with that result, I feel really proud to do it. I feel proud to do that for myself and also for my country,” Osipova said. “I just wanted to shoot well, and every time my arrow landed in the middle, I felt in my soul that I was very happy.”

Osipova came in 23 points up on her nearest competitors over the 72-arrow, 70-metre qualification, Spanish Youth Olympian Elia Canales and her Russian teammate Svetlana Gomboeva, who won the second stage of the Hyundai Archery World Cup in Lausanne.

The 28-year-old put 14 points on her international competition best with Tuesday's score in Antalya’s gentle breeze.

Osipova's last end was a 58 – done the hard way, with five arrows in the 10-ring and one in the eight. It was the amount she needed to jump one ahead of Lisa Unruh’s previous European record score of 683 in 2019.

Mike Schloesser continued his impressive run of top seeds on the compound side of the field.

He matched his score of two weeks ago in Lausanne – 716 points for the 72-arrow, 50-metre qualifying round – to claim pole, seven ahead of Nico Wiener of Austria and Russia’s Viktor Kalashnikov.

“I started off really strong, had a little bit of a dip halfway in the second half, but I recovered well and shot two pretty nice ends at the end,” said the world number one. “The second half was a bit more challenging, and I made some sloppy mistakes, and I think that’s why I don’t feel that happy about my second half compared to my first one. Even though it’s the same score, the feeling wasn’t the same.”

Schloesser also seeded first at the Hyundai Archery World Cup season opener in Guatemala City, making it three pole positions from three major events in 2021.

Jozef Bosansky, Sergio Pagni, Yakup Yildiz, Tim Krippendorf and Ognjen Nedeljkovic won a seven-way shoot-off for five spots in the top eight and a bye into the third round of eliminations.

Competition continues in Antalya with the remaining qualification rounds on Tuesday afternoon.