ANTALYA,
Turkey - The scene at Konyaalti Beach was sunny - and breezy, according to Team
USA's Braden Gellenthien (Hudson, Massachusetts): "Tricky winds down on
the beach here...hats off to the Netherlands boys, they beat us today but
Poland won't be so easy."
Gellenthien
is referring to the fourth and final stage of the Archery World Cup in Wroclaw,
Poland later this year. It's the last opportunity to collect World Cup medals
for this year - and precious qualifying points for the World Cup Final in
Switzerland this fall.
Each compound team faced just one competitor today - but they were high-pressure matches, both gold medal finals. The compound men's team of Gellenthien, Reo Wilde (Pocatello, Idaho) and Bridger Deaton (Pella, Iowa) claimed silver after they were unable to stop a strong squad from the Netherlands, 230-232.
Meanwhile, the U.S. women's team of Erika Jones (Grand Island, Nebraska), Christie Colin (York, Pennsylvania) and Jamie Van Natta (Toledo, Ohio) met their match in a Russian team featuring powerhouse shooter Albina Loginova. Despite Team USA's best efforts, the 223-227 score earned them a silver medal.
Two medals
of any color are a solid achievement at this World Cup, though, considering the
many upsets in the individual rounds this week and the wind that seemed to
return just in time for today's finals. Up next for many of Team USA's archers:
next week's SoCal Showdown, a USAT Qualifier Series Event.
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