Mete Gazoz dispatched Mauro Nespoli comfortably to take a convincing win in the recurve men gold medal match at Madrid 2026 – stage four of the Archery World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the confirmation of the final fours on Friday, Sunday’s afternoon session therefore offered up the tantalising prospect of seeing a rerun of the pair’s famous match in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Turkiye’s Gazoz went on to win 6-4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately for Italy’s Nespoli though, his former foe \u2013 who has beaten him this year at the semifinals of the Europeans \u2013 was in fine fettle and mastered the occasional gusts that swept through the Complutense National Stadium far better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2024 European and Berlin 2023 World champion shot 29, 30 and looked set for a thumping third end score as he dropped his sixth and seventh 10s of the match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following Nespoli’s 10, 8, 7, in the third end, Gazoz needed at least a six to record his first World Cup gold since Berlin 2019 and although many would’ve been expecting at least a nine, it stayed very wide to the right but luckily for him not wide enough to give his opponent a chance to come back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wasn’t expecting that, but I had made a really good decision,\u201d giggled Gazoz after the 6-0 victory. \u201cEverything was great. Just as I was about to make the final shot, the wind hit really hard and pulled the bow to the right. It went for a 6. I mean, whatever number of points I need to hit, I’ll hit that one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI remember the Olympics and also this year’s European Championships semi-final. Mauro won the [silver] medal and I lost against him in the semi-final.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis time I wanted to win this one, and this year I won one [a stage]. We’ll see in the World Cup Final… I hope it’s the same final.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI love shooting with him because he’s had a really good career. He won the recurve men team Olympic silver in 2008. I was nine years old then. He’s a really big name, and I have so much respect for him because of his age and the fact he can still show such a good performance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As respectful to his opponents as Gazoz is and always has been, he will be returning to T\u00fcrkiye knowing that he handled the conditions in Madrid as best as anyone could on the day with Nespoli gesticulating with his hands when he dropped the seven \u2013 the last arrow of the Taipei Archery Open gold medalist’s match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Gazoz has slowly but surely been climbing to this form throughout the season, staring with bronze in Puebla [stage one], silver in Shanghai [stage two] and finally gold in Madrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This steady, incremental increase in quality during the season is deliberate with Gazoz revealing in the week how Turkiye’s training programmes are partly designed for its athletes to peak their performances in the end of summer where the season’s biggest competitions usually take place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Istanbul-native Gazoz and his teammates this year that is the Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The meticulous planning therefore \u2013 spearheaded by technical director and national team head coach Yusuf Goktug Ergin \u2013 brings little wonder as to how the 27-year-old performed today, also for Elif Gokkir who got her first World Cup individual [silver] in the recurve women earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt’s actually everything, not just the technique or just physical strength, it’s everything… It’s about the process,\u201d he added. \u201cWe’re always preparing for the last competition because the World Championships, Europeans, Olympics \u2013 every major competition \u2013 is in the first week of August or July.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is my third individual gold medal, and all my gold medals have come around the same date as the last World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elia Canales and Andres Temi\u00f1o Mediel had a day they’ll never forget as they brilliantly won the recurve mixed team gold medal match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In what will be remembered as a classic, Canales and Temi\u00f1o Mediel rewarded their fantastic home fans at the National Complutense Stadium by shooting perfectly in the shoot-off against China’s Li Mengqi and Zhu Jingyi, turning back the clock to their form at the Gwangju 2025 Hyundai World Archery Championships – which they triumphed in – against two of the most in-form archers in their respective divisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both Mengqi and Jingyi have won individual World Cups this year – in the case of World runner-up Jingyi it’s two, Puebla [stage 1] and Antalya stage 3].<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Spain were determined to leave their home World Cup with at least one gold. Whether it was because they were in their capital or because they had their watching family and friends there, they made sure to have their moment in the sun – metaphorically and literally, as the heat failed to let up once again in Madrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, it\u2019s a really great feeling, isn\u2019t it?\u201d said Temi\u00f1<\/a>o Mediel before going through a raft of photos with fans, teammates and family on the field of play. \u201cHaving everyone here cheering us on, my family, all my teammates, it was really exciting to be able to win at home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe were already dreaming about it last year, and this year we\u2019ve achieved it, so now it\u2019s time to enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe crowd is here, my family is here, my friends are here, it motivates me so much more,\u201d echoed the double 70-metre round world record holder Canales. \u201cIt\u2019s true that there were tense moments when I thought I\u2019d just get a perfect ten and think, \u2018What if I mess up?\u2019 but then I said, \u2018No, no, I trust my shot, I trust my teammate, I trust my work and everything I\u2019ve done to be here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI just wanted to enjoy the moment, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if Spain had won the contest outright at 5-3, it still would’ve deserved to be regarded as one of, if not the best match of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whilst wind has been an issue for many this week in Madrid, it was at its least strong for the morning session, making fine shooting conditions for all the team medal matches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Winning the first set 38-37, the Spanish duo didn’t get any of their next arrows in the 10-ring, with Canales even getting one in the red seven ring. Tying the third set at 38-38 made the scores 3-3 heading into the fourth and final end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If that wasn’t nerve-wracking enough for the Spanish supporters, Canales’ seventh arrow of the match went right into the nine, whereas China landed two Xs and a 10. At the very last moment though, Shanghai 2025 champion Mengqi dropped low into the nine despite Jingyi’s words of encouragement almost literally in his ear before he shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the World Championship gold medallists had an X and a 10 in their last two arrows, a shoot-off was guaranteed and, like last year in Gwangju, they kept their nerve, arguably a tougher task than then due to the heavily influential Spanish crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the end, I know they\u2019ll [her family] still love me, win or lose, so I just want them to be able to enjoy this experience with us, and the fact that it\u2019s in Madrid makes it easier for everyone to be there,\u201d replied Canales when asked how much harder it was to concentrate with every arrow being cheered before and after it was released. \u201cI think the first thing I’m going to do is go out with my family, with my parents, to eat, to celebrate with them, and then in the afternoon to rest,\u201d added current recurve men world champion Temi\u00f1o Mediel who impressively shot six of his arrows in the 10 or X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe still have one competition left this year [Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games] so today we’ll celebrate these days and then refocus a bit on our goal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mete Gazoz dispatched Mauro Nespoli comfortably to take a convincing win in the recurve men gold medal match<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[68],"class_list":["post-14720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-archery"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tPodiums: Madrid 2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Recurve men\u2019s team<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Recurve women\u2019s team<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Recurve mixed team<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Recurve men<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Recurve women<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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