It was a slightly different story in compound. It was perhaps not a big surprise to see Austria’s Nico Wiener, reigning World Cup Final champion, former target world champion and a multiple world champion in field and 3D competition, top the men’s compound field with 419, six points ahead of Italy’s Michea Godano.
In women’s compound Amanda Mlinaric, the silver medallist at the 2024 world field championships, led Great Britain’s Ella Gibson, the bronze medallist in 2024. The winner in 2024, Paige Pearce finished in 3rd spot after the first day.
Great Britain‘s Sophie Meering, the only recurve women representing GBR, finished in 2nd place on the first day, behind defending champion Di Francesco.
“The course was great. There was a lot of mud, some tricky shots.” she said. “The teal faces made it a lot more interesting in terms of gauging, as the lines are a lot fainter than on the black and yellow faces.”
“I feel I shot pretty good, it’s around my average for the year, so in the wet, with on/off rain and at a World Championship, I’m happy with it. I’m not going to do anything different tomorrow, just focus on myself, my process and one arrow at a time.”
The competition continues with marked distances for all competitors on Thursday, before the fields are cut and eliminations begin on the same day.
