Nicolas Girard Wins Archery World Championship Gold

Nicolas Girard Wins Archery World Championship Gold

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The French Arc in Poulies team continues its excellent dynamic at the World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. In the aftermath of the silver medal won by the Blues in team test, Nicolas Girard offered, on Monday, the world title in individual. A historical performance for the 25 -year -old Frenchman, who confirms his status among the best archers in the discipline.

A victory at the end of the suspense

In the final, Nicolas Girard faced the Danish Mathias Fullerton, one of the favorites of the tournament. In a high intensity duel, the Frenchman has imposed himself in a short head, 150-149. His last arrow, which touched the cord of 10, required arbitral verification before being validated. Relief and explosion of joy: Girard thus won the gold medal, seven years after the coronation of Sébastien Senaineau in 2017.

To get there, the Frenchman had to fight throughout the day in a demanding format. After dominating the Turkish Batuhan Akcaoglu in the round of 16, then the Indian Rishabh Yadav in quarters, he snatched his place in the final against the South Korean Choi Yonghee. The latter duel, concluded equally (149-149), was played at the dam arrow, won with composure by Girard.

“An almost perfect championship”

French performance impressed the tricolor staff. “Nicolas achieved an almost perfect championship, first of the qualifications, first at the end. This does not happen often and clearly demonstrates the level of preparation that was his, “said Benoît Binon, national technical director, on the French Federation of Archery.

Girard was able to chain tight duels with a remarkable mastery, especially in this unprecedented format where eighth, quarter, semi-final and final were argued on a single day.

A contrasted World Cup for other French

If Nicolas Girard shone, the competition was more complicated for the other tricolor representatives in pulleys. Jean-Philippe Boulch was stopped in the knockout stages, while in women, Léa Girault, Chloe Leroy and Amber Puiseux were all eliminated prematurely, without managing to win a medal.

With this world title, Girard offers France a new shot in a discipline that will have an additional dimension in 2028, with its entry into the Olympic program in Los Angeles.

Place with classic arc

In Gwangju, the pulleys’ arc tests are now over. The eyes are now turning to the classic arc, with an ambitious French delegation. Lisa Barbelin, bronze medalist at the Paris Games in 2024, will be one of the main chances of podium, alongside Jean-Charles Valladont, Thomas Chirault and Baptiste Addis, Olympic team vice-champions.

Aiko Tanaka

Aiko Tanaka is a combat sports journalist and general sports reporter at Archysport. A former competitive judoka who represented Japan at the Asian Games, Aiko brings firsthand athletic experience to her coverage of judo, martial arts, and Olympic sports. Beyond combat sports, Aiko covers breaking sports news, major international events, and the stories that cut across disciplines — from doping scandals to governance issues to the business side of global sport. She is passionate about elevating the profile of underrepresented sports and athletes.

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