Team USA’s Brady Ellison and Casey Kaufhold took home the bronze medal in the mixed team archery event at the 2024 Summer Paris Olympic Games on Friday.
Team USA
The mixed team for USA is stronger than ever with the worlds #1 ranked recurve female archer, Kaufhold, competing alongside 5 time Olympian Ellison from Glendale, Ariz. He is recognized for holding the longest continuous period as the world #1 ranked men’s recurve archer from 2011 to 2013.
Kaufhold from Lancaster, Pa. competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and took on her second Olympic Games in Paris. She dazzled fans with her set winning arrow in the 2024 quarter-finals against India.
The quarter-finals
The match is set from a length of 70 meters away — over half a football field — at a 122cm target. Archers can gain 2 set points if they win and 1 set point if they tie with the other team. The first team to reach 5 set points wins the match.
This was the first Olympic debut for India’s archers Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara with Bhakat ranked 42nd and Bommadevara ranked 14th in the world. The pressure was heavy for this pair, as no Indian Olympic archery team competed for a medal before. With a slow start, India defeated Spain with 5 to 3 set points and moved-on to go up against team USA.
After Kaufhold’s subpar performance on day 6 of the women’s individuals, she held steady as her and Ellison competed against Japan’s Satsuki Noda and Junya Nakanishi in the quarter-finals, where USA took the win with a 5 to 3 set point difference. Emotional, Kaufhold held back her tears as the American pair moved on to their semifinal match against India.
Bhakat, representing India, had an average arrow of 9.15 out of 10 going into the finals, with her teammate Bommadevara being 9.58. The pair was up against Kaufhold’s average arrow of 9.34, and Ellison’s average of 9.50.
Shooting a clean round, Ellison with a 10 and 9, then Kaufhold matching his score, team USA took the first lead with 2-0 set points against India. They put up a fight after Bhakat’s low score of 7 by Bommadevara following with two 10’s which Bhakat matched with another 10. Into the second set, Bhakat — shaken by her previous low score of 7 — failed to recover from the pressure, shooting another arrow into the 7 ring. Fortunately, her teammate made up for it with a 10 point arrow. Ellison countered with a clean 10 followed by Kaufhold shooting an 8. However, India shot two 9’s as Bhakat began to find her groove. Taking advantage of the minute errors from India, USA took the second set. With a clean round, Kaufhold and Ellison pulled through to an astonishing 4-0 point lead and left only one point left for the USA to score the bronze.
Team India fought back. The winds picked up, making hitting the target challenging. The pressure of defending her title set in on Kaufhold, as she shot a 7 and an 8, losing that match for her team, allowing India to take the 3rd set point. Both teams reached 4-2 set odds.
Kaufhold looked hesitant as the 4th set came to an end. However, she was backed up by Ellison’s experience and the support of their coach, Chris Webster. India shot two 8s, a 9, and a 10 bringing them to 35 points. Ellison then shot a 10, followed by a 9 by Kaufhold and another 9 by Ellison. Needing only an 8 or more, all pressure was on Kaufhold to win the match.
Kaufhold shot a clean 9. The crowd erupted while Kaufhold and Ellison shouted, throwing their fists in the air and embracing each other. As expected of Ellison, his performance was well executed and fluid, barely wavering in points. Together they took home the first archery mixed team medal for Team USA.
With tears streaming down her face, Kaufhold became the first American woman to medal in Olympic archery since 1988. These quarter-finals also marked Ellison as the most decorated archer in the United States. History was made in this match. This was USA’s first ever mixed team medal in the Olympics.
Caroline Ambrose is a 2024 summer Sports intern for New University, she can be contacted at carolisa@uci.edu
Edited by Benjamin Flores and Annabelle Aguirre
