Recurve men’s archers Samuel Molina and Héctor Julio Ramirez shared the top spot in qualifying at the second leg of the Americas Para Archery Cup, posting identical scores.
Mexico’s Molina enters Chicago as the clear favourite, ranked number two in the world and boasting an impressive résumé that includes two Para Pan American Championship golds, a Santiago 2023 Para Pan American Games title, and victory in the first leg of the new continental para circuit earlier this year.
Ramirez, who was not representing Colombia but rather his club ‘Meta’, matched Molina’s performance across the 72-arrow round, scoring 634 with the same number of Xs (five) and 10s (19).
This result means the recurve men’s bracket will have two top seeds instead of the usual single number one.
Both archers dominated the eight-athlete field, with Guatemala’s Juan Diego Blas Fernández the closest challenger at 618 – a 16-point gap.
Molina defeated Blas in straight sets at the first leg of the Americas Para Cup in Morelia earlier this summer, but Friday’s tight qualifications suggest a potential Molina versus Ramirez gold-medal showdown on Sunday.
Elsewhere at Dunbar Park, results largely followed expectations.
Kevin Polish, also a Santiago 2023 champion, led the compound men’s open field with 699, ahead of Costa Rica’s Diego Quesada Arias on 683.
In the compound women’s event, 2019 World Archery Para Champion Nur Syahidah Alim topped qualifying with 676. Although Costa Rica’s María del Pilar Riveros had more Xs (41 to Alim’s 37), Alim’s higher overall score secured her top seeding.
Paris 2024 Paralympic Champion Jason Tabansky dominated the men’s W1 open, posting 657 – a massive 48-point lead over second seed Ryan Lindstrom, also from the USA.
Gold medal matches in Chicago will take place on Sunday.
