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Italy steals compound title as mixed team medals awarded in Terni

7 September 2022

Terni, Italy

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Irene Franchini and Marco Bruno celebrating winning the mixed team title in Terni.

Pairs from Spain, Austria, Sweden and Italy collected the first-ever mixed team world titles in the 3D discipline today in Terni. The event made its international debut at this week’s Rinehart World Archery 3D Championships.

Despite making the semifinals in all four categories – longbow, traditional, barebow and compound – it looked like the host nation would be held off the top spot of the podium.

But during the fourth of the four events to take to the four-target course, Irene Franchini and Marco Bruno stole gold at the last.

Trailing Austria – featuring World Archery Champion Nico Wiener – by two points arriving at the fourth target, a long bear, the Italians shot a solid 21 points. (One perfect 11, one 10.)

Ingrid Ronacher finished with a five – and Italy took the title.

“It was surprising,” said Franchini, a veteran of international field and 3D competition. “As always, we shot until the last arrow but we didn‘t imagine anything like that would happen.”

“I’m upset for her because I know she’s a good archer but that’s the game,” she added.

While the compound mixed team brought the lone gold medal on the day for the host, Italy also picked up bronze medals in the barebow and traditional pairs events.

Spain took the first title of the day in the longbow event before Austria defeated a Spanish duo in the traditional final.

Claudia Weinberger, who is also into the longbow women’s individual semifinals, called the win “a dream come true” but said the last target, the bear, while normally easy was “really hard on the nerves”.

None of the four targets set for the mixed team finals course, which was much flatter than the last two days of qualifying, was particularly small.

Swedish archers are the undoubted world leaders in barebow archery. That was evident again today in Italy.

Fredrik Lundmark and Stine Asell dropped the hosts – featuring reigning World Games Champion Cinzia Noziglia and multiple world champion Giuseppe Seimandi – in the semifinals, 72-70, and then France in the final, 79-72.

“We knew on the last bear that if we shot well, we would win,” said Lundmark. The Swedes had a five-point advantage before the last target and finished with two 10s.

“It was fine. I don’t get nervous about these things. It should be fun. So we just said, it’s 25 metres, just shoot – and it worked.”

All distances at these 3D championships are unknown.

Competition continues at the Rinehart World Archery 3D Championships in Terni with eliminations on Thursday.