ARCHERY: Koreans Lee and Kang win Nimes Recurve, but Kaufhold, 14, wins silver

American Casey Kaufhold, 14, in the Nimes Indoor World Series final (Photo: World Archery)

The Nimes stop on the World Archery Indoor World Series tour was the first tournament offering maximum points toward a spot in the Indoor World Series final and the fields were stellar.

No surprise, then, that the Recurve division was dominated by Korea, with Seung-Yun Lee and Chae-Young Kang winning the tournament titles. But the new talent which finished second was worth noting.

In the men’s division, Ukraine’s Sergei Makarevych, 23, won his first career Indoor World Series medal and defeated Korea’s Jaeyeop Han in the semis, 7-3, before losing to Lee in the final by 6-2.

The women’s silver medalist was 14-year-old Casey Kaufhold of the U.S., who advanced steadily to the final, but finally losing to Kang, 6-2. After splitting the points on the first two ends (2-2), Kang won a decisive third end by 29-26 and then won the match with a 30-29 win in the fourth end. Still, an impressive second medal for the American 14-year-old in the Indoor World Series season.

In the Compound Division, the all-American final saw the 2017 World Cup gold medalist, Braden Gellenthien score a final-arrow 10 to edge Kris Schaff, 145-144. “I said previously in Rome [where he ended up in a shoot-off] that I felt really strong with my shot, and I would have expected to hit the 10-ring 90 out of a 100 shots,” said Gellenthien. “Today I told myself the same thing, relax, shoot the best shot you can and let the chips fall as they may. Today, it found its way into the 10-ring. I’m feeling confident, the equipment’s working and my mind’s at ease. I’m expecting a really strong season.”

In the women’s Compound Division, Germany’s Janine Meissner was excellent, missing only one 10-ring on the way to a 149-144 win over Korean Chae-Won So. Summaries:

World Archery Indoor World Series
Nimes (FRA) ~ 18-20 January 2019
(Full results here)

Men’s Recurve: 1. Seung-Yun Lee (KOR); 2. Sergei Makarevych (UKR); 3. Jin-Hyek Oh (KOR); 4. Jaeyeop Han (KOR). Semis: Makarevych d. Han, 7-3; Lee d. Oh, 7-3. Third: Oh d. Han, 6-4. Final: Lee d. Makarevych, 6-2.

Men’s Compound: 1. Braden Gellenthien (USA); 2. Kris Schaff (USA); 3. Mike Schloesser (NED); 4. Stephan Hansen (DEN). Semis: Schaff d. Hansen, 148-148 (shoot-off: 10-10, closest to the center); Gellenthien d. Schloesser, 150-150 (shoot-off: 10-9). Third: Schloesser d. Hansen, 147-145; Final: Gellenthien d. Schaff, 145-144.

Women’s Recurve: 1. Chae-Young Kang (KOR); 2. Casey Kaufhold (USA); 3. Yeji Sim (KOR); 4. Yun Jin (KOR). Semis: Kang d. Jin, 6-0; Kaufhold d. Sim, 6-4. Third: Sim d. Jun, 7-1. Final: Kang d. Kaufhold, 6-2.

Women’s Compound: 1. Janine Meissner (GER); 2. Chae-Won So (KOR); 3. Natalia Avdeeva (RUS); 4. Marcella Tonioli (ITA). Semis: Meissner d. Tonioli, 145-144; So d. Avdeeva, 147-146. Third: Avdeeva d. Tonioli, 143-143 (shoot-off: 10-9). Final: Meissner d. So, 149-144.