MADRID, Spain – Soaring temperatures will greet archers heading to the Spanish capital for Stage #4 of the 2026 Hyundai Archery World Cup, and a last chance to make the World Cup Final.
Spain is coming off the second hottest June on record, with temperatures climbing above 100 degrees and the start of July is unlikely to offer too much respite for athletes. Forecasts indicate triple-digit temperatures at least for the first few days of competition, which runs until Sunday.
The 16-strong U.S. team includes Brady Ellison, whose success in Stage #1 in Puebla, Mexico back in April assured him of a 15th World Cup Final appearance.
Stage winners automatically qualify for the Final, with eight archers in each division and gender category set to compete in Mexico in September. Ellison may be the only U.S. archer confirmed but a win in Madrid for any of the other members of the team would guarantee them a spot, also.
Archers can also qualify with enough ranking points accumulated across all four World Cup stages. Alexis Ruiz – gold medalist at last month’s Pan American Championships – sits fifth in compound women, so a solid showing in Spain would cement her spot.
Stephan Hansen, who returns to the team for Stage #4, is 11th in the compound men rankings. James Lutz sits in 15th. Both are more than capable of a strong run this week.
In recurve women, Catalina GNoriega (17) is the highest-ranked U.S. archer, though Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez is arguably in the form of her life, having won the last two USAT Qualifier Series events – the Easton Foundations Salt Lake Summit and Easton Foundations SoCal Showdown – followed by gold at the Pan American Championships.
Mucino-Fernandez defeated teammate Casey Kaufhold in the Pan Am Championships’ gold medal match. Those two archers – along with Olivia Martin – won recurve women’s team gold.
Aside from Ellison, who has already qualified for the World Cup Final, the leading U.S. archer in recurve men is Christian Stoddard (14th). Stoddard, Ellison and Nicholas D’Amour were recurve men’s team winners at the Pan Am Championships.
The USA team will include one (outdoor) World Cup debutant. Katelyn Bordwell – who has vast Indoor World Cup experience – joins Ruiz, Liko Arreola and Olivia Dean among the compound women.
Bordwell (pictured) began competing in the USAT Qualifier Series last year. She placed fifth at this year’s Easton Foundations Gator Cup, with top 10 finishes at Salt Lake Summit and SoCal Showdown. As a result, the 28-year-old sits third in the rankings for the inaugural USAT Series Final.
The 2025 USA Archery Target Nationals bronze medalist wrote on social media ahead of her departure, “This fourth of July I won’t be at the lake watching fireworks. I will be on a plane to Madrid with Team USA Archery competing in my first World Cup.
“This was a big goal I made once I started shooting USATs and beyond excited I’m getting to accomplish it so soon.”
You can follow the fortunes of the USA team, with live scores and results. Coverage of medal matches is also available via archery+ (subscription required).
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RECURVE MEN |
RECURVE WOMEN |
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Trenton Cowles |
Catalina GNoriega |
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COMPOUND MEN |
COMPOUND WOMEN |
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Curtis Broadnax |
Liko Arreola |
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