Paris 2024 Olympic medallist Thomas Chirault claimed the recurve men’s individual and mixed team titles as France collected three gold medals from the archery competition at the Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games on Friday.
Chirault, who had upset top seed and reigning world champion Andres Temiño Mediel in the semifinals, continued his impressive run with a commanding 7-1 victory over Italy’s world number 71 Francesco Gregori in the individual final.
Leading 3-1 after two sets, the world number nine produced a perfect 30, including two Xs, to extend his advantage before closing out the match with a 28 to Gregori’s 24.
Chirault had earlier partnered Caroline Lopez to win the recurve mixed team title, with the French pair sweeping Türkiye’s Mete Gazoz and Dunya Yenihayat 6-0 in the gold medal match.
The Frenchman narrowly missed out on a third title, settling for silver in the men’s team event after France lost 6-0 to a Spanish side led by Temiño Mediel.
“This day is a little marathon for me, divided into three finals,” said Chirault. “But this is the best part of the iceberg, because it means that everything went well during the week. The gold medal with Caroline in the mixed race is very significant, but above all, it allows France to move up the medal table and also gives us a lot of experience ahead of the upcoming competitions.”
