CIRENCESTER'S Ella Gibson became the first British archer to compete in three World Cup finals, writes Chris Roberts MBE.
The third round of the 2024 Hyundai World Cup was held in Antalya, Turkey from June 18-23 and, after five days of shooting in temperatures of 40 degrees plus, the British compound archers made three finals.
On Wednesday June 19, the GB compound women’s team competed in their elimination matches.
The trio, comprising Layla Annison, Izzy Carpenter and Cirencester’s Ella Gibson, made it from the eighth round to the Bronze final defeating the teams from Brazil and second-ranked Mexico, but they lost the semi-final to Estonia by a single point!
In the fight for Bronze against the home team, Turkiye, the match ended in a tie with 232 points each, resulting in a shoot off. A total of 28 from the GB team was enough to earn them the Bronze.
World No. 1 female compound archer, Ella Gibson also competed in the semi-finals on Saturday June 22, where she narrowly missed out on a place in the Gold medal match by one point.
In the Bronze match, Ella faced Slovenia’s Tonja Ellison who ranked in ninth place to Ella’s sixth. After tying the first end, Ella then gained and maintained a two-point lead resulting in a 148-146 win. She has also become the first archer from Great Britain to make three World Cup Finals.
Ella said: “It’s great to finish the season with a World Cup medal and it’s locked in my place at the World Cup Final, my third appearance in a row. I’m going to try my hardest to medal, if not come away with the win!”
In the mixed team competition, Ella and Ajay Scott went into the eliminations in eleventh position. The pair knocked out the sixth-ranked Americans and then, later in the semi-finals, the second-ranked team from Colombia.
This solidified their spot in the Gold final against the team from Kazakhstan.
After a closely fought match finishing 158-155, GB came away with the Silver.
The final round of the 2024 Hyundai World Cup will take place from October 19-20 in Tlaxcala, Mexico.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here