At the 2016 European Archery Championships in Nottingham, England, reigning World Archery Field Champion JC Valladont put in a determined performance to oust 16-year-old Mete Gazoz.
The podium for the finals was situated at Old Market Square in the city centre in Nottingham and was packed for recurve Sunday.
Both JC and Mete shot two 10s and a nine to open the match. While Mete kept the same score in the second set, JC shot one point less. They split the third set and Mete was quickly up 4-2.
In the fourth and fifth sets, JC found the middle again, putting down a pair of 29s, first to catch Mete up then – as the winner of the continental qualifying event in Nottingham put down a 26 – claim a crown he had not won before: European Champion.
“Today I came to do my best. I’m in all the posters of the European Championships and I wanted to win. I’m satisfied” said Valladont.
Those posters, used to promote the championships all over Nottingham, made JC famous around the city – and even got him a cheap taxi ride, as the driver recognised him.
Mete, who shot exceptionally all week couldn’t quite control the pressure at the end of his first senior gold medal final ever.
“I could have win but I lost control over my body,” admitted Mete. “Having never won gold brings extra pressure as I keep saying ‘next time, next time’ – and it’s not happening, so yes.”
GBR’s crowd favorite Patrick Huston, who secured a spot for Rio 2016 earlier this week, rounded op the podium by winning the bronze medal over Lucas Daniel from France.
In the womens division Veronika Marchenko, who collected gold with the Ukrainian recurve women’s team in the morning, took on Russia’s Tuiana Dashidorzhieva to take her second win of the day and her first individual title ever.
“I’m still shaking,” admitted Veronika, just after finishing her match! “I know that my parents, my friends and my teammates were supporting me here and back home; that helped me to shoot well.”
“I really wanted to win this medal, it’s the first time I’ve won individually. I’ve been shooting for a long time and in teams I can do it well, but individually I struggle a bit. It’s important for me to win, especially this year.”
Germany’s Lisa Unruh beat Veronika’s teammate Anastasia Pavlova to bronze, 6-4.
For complete results of the tournament visit Ianseo.net
