The USA, meanwhile, was another familiar opponent – and a painful one. At Tokyo 2020, Ellison, Jack Williams and Jacob Wukie defeated France in straight sets in the opening round, a result Chirault once called a “nightmare”.
Back then, Chirault – just 23 – anchored the team. In Madrid, he did the same, with Valladont shooting second and Addis third. The Frenchman, also a Vegas Shoot silver medallist, landed four of his eight arrows in the 10-ring and set the tone from the start.
“In Shanghai, I had some trouble with my eye. I woke up in the morning and it was twice the size,” he revealed. “This time, I was ready, even if the week was a bit difficult for me [individually]. For this final, I just wanted to give my best for the team, start with a 10 in the arena and give confidence to my teammates.”
“This is my job, I managed to do it well today, so I’m very proud.”
The bells ringing above Madrid’s cathedral, just beyond Explanada Puente del Rey, added a poetic note to the moment as Addis, Chirault and Valladont stood together for their first World Cup gold.
Their time has come. Will it continue in Gwangju?
Korea’s Olympic gold medallists, An San, Lim Sihyeon and Kang Chaeyoung, won the recurve women’s team event, while Ellison and Jennifer Mucino took recurve mixed team gold for the USA.
Competition in Madrid concludes with recurve individual finals in the afternoon.
