Final fours: Who favourite to take the titles this weekend in French capital?
The individual final fours are set at the third stage of this year’s Hyundai Archery World Cup in Paris which will conclude at the spectacular finals arena, the historic Chateau de Vincennes in the east of the city.
Ahead of the finals, former compound women’s world number one and new Archery GB Performance Coach, Nicky Hunt, told the World Archery Show who she thinks will top the podiums in Korea.
To get there, they have risen to the top of a field of over 350 archers in total, the largest stage of the circuit this year so far.
Read on for Nicky’s predictions, but if you want to hear what Sara Lopez, Lisa Unruh, Sjef van den Berg and others predicted before an arrow was shot in Paris, you can here.
The compound finals are scheduled for the afternoon on Saturday 25 June and the recurve will follow in the afternoon on Sunday 26 June. Both finals sessions start at 14h00 local time (that’s 12h00 UTC) and you can watch live worldwide.
Compound women
- Ella Gibson, Great Britain (1)
- Mariya Shkolna, Luxembourg (28)
- Sophie Dodemont, France (6)
- Jyothi Surekha Vennam, India (2)
Nicky says: “This one? Ella Gibson. She went out in Antalya and won the first stage, booking her 2022 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final place. The pressure is off right? This is the biggest thing when they’re standing out there in the finals arena. Ella’s on a roll and I think she’s going to do it”
“Sophie and Jyoti are consistently very high performers and Mariya will be happy to have got into that final for this occasion, but Ella is in really fine form.”
The favourite? Ella Gibson
Compound men
- Nicolas Girard, France (16)
- Braden Gellenthien, USA (5)
- Jean Pizarro, Puerto Rico (35)
- Anders Faugstad, Norway (15)
Nicky says: “I’m going for Braden Gellenthien. I mean, three of those have been really consistent of late, but Gellenthien is the standout for me.”
“He’s already won the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final three times (and got silver there six times). If you put all his medals together from all the Hyundai Archery World Cup stages, individual and team, he has got 30 golds, 17 silvers and 11 bronze medals.”
“This guy is incredible.”
The favourite? Braden Gellenthien
Recurve women
- Peng Chia-Mao, Chinese Taipei (17)
- Choi Misun, Korea (5)
- Penny Healey, Great Britain (14)
- Agu Utano, Japan (18)
Nicky says: “There are three really strong Asian archers in that line-up but, wow, what a surprise that the 17-year-old from Great Britain, Penny Healy, made the final four.”
“I’m going to go with Choi Misun on this one. You know she won in Korea on the first stage that the Koreans were back on the tour so, again, she has no pressure in terms of trying to make the finals. She’s an incredible archer and on a roll after that second stage.”
The favourite? Choi Misun
Recurve men
- Oh Jin Hyek, Korea (8)
- Marcus D’Almeida, Brazil (12)
- Dan Olaru, Moldova (35)
- Kim Je Deok, Korea (2)
Nicky says: “We’ve got the chance here for the two Koreans to come through to that gold medal match and they’ve lined up beautifully. I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“I’m going to go for Oh (Jin Hyek). He’s an incredible archer, the first Korean man to win the Olympics back in 2012. He was injured at the last stage in Korea, but he’s clearly better now.”
“He’s going to [continue] on that roll to win this one.”
The favourite? Oh Jin Hyek
