Brady Ellison bellowed his way back to coach Mel Nichols after securing his sixth Hyundai Archery World Cup Final title with victory over Marcus D’Almeida in the recurve men’s gold medal match in Nanjing.
It was a rematch of the world’s top two recurve men – just as it had been 11 years ago at Lausanne 2014 – and once again, Ellison emerged victorious. This time, though, the scoreline was 6-4, not a shoot-off.
Leading 4-2 after four sets, and with D’Almeida dropping a 28, the American great needed at least the same to clinch it – and did exactly that, landing a nine, an X10 and another nine, his final arrow sitting just above the 10-ring.
His roar of celebration said it all – joy, relief and pride at being back on top of the sport’s premier international circuit.
“I didn’t have any expectations coming in,” said Ellison. “I just wanted to stick to my game plan and keep the timing I had today, and it was good enough. I actually felt like I shot very well, and my semifinal match against Mete [Gazoz] was one of the best I’ve had in years.”
“I hit the 10s when I needed 10s to tie or win sets. For the most part, I did that all day. When you’re tying sets and never really losing ground, it puts you in good positions.”
“I’ve really felt good this back half of the year.”
As well as the best, Ellison, 36, was the oldest on stage today at the Nanjing Olympic Museum.
At 36, Ellison was the oldest archer on stage at the Nanjing Olympic Museum, where his semifinal rivals included Thomas Chirault (28), D’Almeida (27) and Gazoz (26). Yet even in the twilight of his career, the Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist showed that while form is temporary, class is permanent.
