Top 3: The best archer at the 2021 world championships?

The Yankton 2021 Hyundai World Archery Championships concluded on Sunday when Kim Woojin put a bow on the proceedings by collecting his third gold medal in as many events – as well as his third-career world championship title.

The Korean was one of two archers who ran the table in Yankton, winning each of the events in which they competed having already qualified as the top seed for good measure. A third separated herself from the pack by taking down a giant who had appeared unbeatable before the underdog did the impossible.

It takes a truly special archer to distinguish themselves among the largest collection of international talent the sport has to offer. 

Here is our (very, very subjective) list of the three most impressive performances at the worlds.

3) Casey Kaufhold

Who are they? Recurve woman from the USA.

Where did they finish? Silver in the recurve women’s individual event.

Why are they on this list? Casey Kaufhold reached her first-career international individual gold medal match in spectacular fashion in Yankton, upsetting three-time Olympic Champion An San in the semifinals on the way to an individual silver medal. An San was on pace to match her three golds from Tokyo before Kaufhold derailed those plans, claiming the first individual podium for a US recurve woman at the world championships since Denise Parker in 1989. At 17 years old, she is the only person this season who can say they’ve beaten the Olympic Champion.

2) Kim Woojin

Who are they? Recurve man from Korea.

Where did they finish? Triple gold medallist in the individual, mixed team and team events. 

Why are they on this list? Kim Woojin became the third man and the fourth archer in history to win three individual world titles, completing a trifecta of golds in Yankton after also leading Korea to victories in the recurve mixed and men's team events. It was a return to the top step of the podium for the Korean men after taking two consecutive bronze medals, as well as a remarkable display of consistency from Kim, who won his first individual crown a decade ago. At just 29 years old, his standing within the sport has reached even greater heights after a spectacular display here in Yankton.

1) Sara Lopez

Who are they? Compound woman from Colombia.

Where did they finish? Triple gold medallist in the individual, mixed team and team events. 

Why are they on this list? Sara Lopez had a perfect campaign in Yankton, securing compound mixed and women's team golds for powerhouse Colombia before winning the first individual world title of her career. In doing so, she became the first archer to win all three gold medals available, shooting a perfect 150-point match in the semifinals on the way to collecting the final major accolade that had been missing from an otherwise sterling career.

Having already been to four previous world championships, the fifth was Lopez's opportunity to finally win that missing title: “It was something list on my list," she said, "and now I can remove it and set new goals.” Lopez will compete for a record-sixth title at the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in the very same arena later this week.