Key takeaways
There’s more to Mexico’s compound women than Andrea Becerra. Even in defeat, the world number one – who overtook Ella Gibson earlier this year – can reflect on an extraordinary season: golds in Central Florida and Antalya, plus titles at the Chengdu 2025 World Games and the world championships. But Bernal, her 22-year-old teammate, proved Mexico’s depth in talent. After defeating Türkiye’s Hazal Burun and India’s Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Becerra needed just one more win for a perfect outdoor season. Bernal had other plans. The younger Mexican forced a shoot-off at 147-147, with her 10 landing 13.9 millimetres closer to the spider. It was her second win over Becerra this year, following the Copa Merengue final, suggesting more all-Mexican podiums may be ahead in 2026.
Emircan Haney: the heir to Demir Elmaagacli? Before Saturday, the USA was the only country with more than one Archery World Cup Final Champion in compound men. Now Türkiye joins that list thanks to Haney. In 2015, Elmaagacli beat Reo Wilde on his way to the title. Ten years later, Haney followed a similar path, defeating another legend – Dutch star Mike Schloesser – before edging Mathias Fullerton 149-148. With a mixed team gold from Samsun 2018 already to his name, Elmaagacli remains Türkiye’s benchmark in compound men. But at just 24, Haney has time on his side to surpass even that legacy.
Brady Ellison overtakes Kim Woojin – for now. The magic of the recurve men’s gold medal match at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games – when Woojin beat Brady – still resonates across the sport. This time, it was the American’s turn to celebrate. Ellison’s sixth World Cup Final win takes him past the Korean’s five, making him the most successful recurve man in the competition’s history. At 36, the ’s-Hertogenbosch 2019 world champion shows no sign of slowing down – proof once again that form is temporary, but class is permanent.
