Beginners guide to the 2021 Hyundai World Archery Championships

The first of two back-to-back international events in Yankton to end the season is the 2021 Hyundai World Archery Championships.

It’s unusual for the event to be held in an Olympic year – but that, obviously, came about when the Games in Tokyo were delayed from 2020 into this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Individual and team world champion titles are up for grabs this week in the USA.

It’s the first time we’ve seen the Korean team at major international archery event, outside of the Olympics, since 2019. The squad skipped the Hyundai Archery World Cup circuit at the start of the year, focusing on Japan. That done, they return to the field.

Reigning world champions Brady Ellison and James Lutz defend their titles on home soil.

And, also for the first time since 2019, it’ll be in front of a crowd. Yankton isn’t a huge city but it does boast the largest dedicated archery facility in the world and a community passionate about bringing these championships to life.

Key information

What’s happening? The 2021 Hyundai World Archery Championships on 21-26 September in Yankton, South Dakota, USA.

What’s at stake? Ten world champion titles.

Who’s competing? A total of 336 athletes from 53 countries.

What’s the story? The world championships matters. World titles are tough to come by – and the crown lives forever. It’s going to be a windy week in Yankton. Whoever comes best prepared for the conditions will have a shot at the podium.

Event schedule

• Tuesday 21 September: Qualification
• Wednesday 22 September: Team eliminations
• Thursday 23 September: Eliminations
• Friday 24 September: Team finals
• Saturday 25 September: Compound finals
• Sunday 26 September: Recurve finals

How to watch

Coverage of the Hyundai World Archery Championships is being shown worldwide by broadcast partners. The following sessions are being streamed on World Archery’s YouTube channel and via the Olympic Channel in certain territories. 

• Live: Recurve team finals – 24 September at 10h00 UTC-5
• Live: Compound team finals – 24 September at 14h00 UTC-5
• Live: Compound women finals – 25 September at 10h00 UTC-5
• Live: Compound men finals – 25 September at 14h00 UTC-5
• Live: Recurve women finals – 26 September at 10h00 UTC-5
• Live: Recurve men finals – 26 September at 14h00 UTC-5

Live scores will be available on the World Archery website, and there will be coverage on World Archery’s digital platforms throughout the competition.

Championship bingo

Yankton will host the Hyundai World Archery Championships and Hyundai Archery World Cup Final back-to-back to end the international season in 2021. In 2015, the city hosted the World Archery Youth Championships and in 2018, the last-ever World Archery Indoor Championships took place in the very hall that’s hosting the dining hall this week.

Next year, the NFAA Easton Yankton Archery Centre will hold the World Archery Field Championships (delayed from 2020). The venue is well on its way to becoming the first to host every single major international archery tournament on the calendar!

Who’s competing?

The following reigning champions return to defend their titles:

• Recurve men: Brady Ellison, USA
• Compound men: James Lutz, USA
• Compound women: Natalia Avdeeva, RAF

The following Olympic Champions are competing:

• Recurve men: Mete Gazoz, Turkey
• Recurve women: An San, Korea

These are the top-ranked archers shooting in Yankton:

• Recurve men: Brady Ellison, USA (world rank: 1)
• Recurve women: Elena Osipova, RAF (world rank: 2)
• Compound men: Mike Schloesser, Netherlands (world rank: 1)
• Compound women: Tanja Gellenthien, Denmark (world rank: 1)

A total of 336 archers from the national teams of the following 53 countries are registered for this tournament: Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, USA and the US Virgin Islands.

Competition at the 2021 Hyundai World Archery Championships starts with qualification on Tuesday 21 September.