Star boy Baptiste Addis tops recurve qualification in Central Florida
Baptiste Addis reminded the archery world of his talent on Wednesday, topping the recurve men’s qualification at the first stage of the 2025 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Central Florida with a commanding performance.
The 18-year-old, who became one of the youngest Olympic medallists in archery history with team silver at Paris 2024, needed no backup at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex, as he dropped a score of 671 to claim top seed of 66 athletes on the line.
“I was expecting nothing,” said the 2023 World Archery Youth Championships bronze medallist. “It’s the first World Cup of the year, the first competition, and I’m proud because I’m shooting better, but I’m not really at 100 per cent when the wind is like that.”
Addis explained that he focused on mindset over results.
“For the first international competition [of the season], I tried to just put some confidence in me. I’m working on staying focused on my skills, not getting angry for mistakes, just forget it and try moving forward – and also focusing on the teamwork, because I’m really proud of my team.”
It is no wonder France drafted Addis from the youth categories into the senior ranks. Despite his age, he showed no signs of inexperience, outscoring a stacked field that included Paris 2024 mixed team silver medallist Florian Unruh (670), Berlin 2023 World Archery Champion Mete Gazoz (668) and world number three Marcus D’Almeida (659), all while managing the swirling winds in Auburndale.
On top of that, his mental composure is well beyond his years, with his thoughtful approach to practice on the field the day before competition a shining example of why there is so much hype around him.
“In practice, we can do a big score, but sometimes it changes with the day, and then I keep adapting my skills to try to be more efficient,” he explained.
“It’s not always about the numbers, and I don’t have a score in my head. I just wanted to enjoy my qualification, trust myself, and that’s all.”
Compatriot Thomas Chirault wasn’t far behind Addis, seeding third with 669 and helping secure France’s top seed in the recurve men’s team event. Germany also made a strong showing across the team board, in addition to Unruh’s second seed in the individual ranking.
Michelle Kroppen poled in women’s qualifying, delivering a standout 664 – eight points clear of Zhu Jingyi (656) – and the only athlete in the field to break 660. Teammate Elisa Tartler also performed well, finishing in the top 10 with a 642.
“I was not sure this morning how this is going to be, but I was trying to train myself to make really strong shots and I was brave,” said the 2024 Indoor World Series Finals gold medallist Kroppen. “With the wind, it’s difficult. You have to be awake all the time. You have to see when the wind is changing.”
“It was coming from the front, but sometimes it was shifting from left to right. I just kept my sight in the middle of the target and told myself, ‘Do a strong shot, be brave, hold long, go through’. And it worked really well for me today.”
Recurve action returns tomorrow with the men and women team eliminations in the afternoon after compound eliminations have taken place in the morning.
Action continues in Central Florida with recurve team eliminations on Thursday morning.
Top seeds: Central Florida 2025
Full results on the event page.
Recurve Men
- Baptiste Addis, France – 671
- Florian Unruh, Germany – 670
- Thomas Chirault, France – 669
Thirteen archers shot 660+. Top-64 cut at 565.
Recurve Women
- Michelle Kroppen, Germany – 664
- Zhu Jingyi, China – 656
- Diananda Choirunisa, Indonesia – 653
Four archers shot 650+. No top-64 cut.
