Barbelin, meanwhile, secured places in two gold medal matches – the recurve women’s individual and team events.
The Paris 2024 bronze medallist edged top seed Di Francesco 6-5 in the quarterfinals before progressing to the individual gold medal match, where she will face Canales, the 2026 European Outdoor Championships silver medallist.
The world number eight Spaniard enjoyed a relatively comfortable route through the elimination brackets to set up the final against the 24th ranked Frenchwoman.
In the women’s team event, Barbelin combined with Lopez and Laï-Tsan Randriantsara to defeat a Canales-led Spanish side in the semifinals and book a gold medal meeting with Türkiye’s Elif Gokkir, Gizem Ozkan and Yenihayat. Barbelin held off an early challenge from Gokkir to win their individual semifinal 6-2.
The Turkish trio reached the final after overcoming a spirited Italian team featuring Di Francesco in a 5-4 shoot-off.
Competition at the Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games continues with the individual and team finals on Friday.
Images courtesy of World Archery Europe.
