Italy secured a historic victory at the European Indoor Archery Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, topping the medal table with an unprecedented 21 podium finishes. The Azzurri claimed 11 gold, 4 silver, and 6 bronze medals across senior and junior categories, more than doubling the tally of second-place Turkey and third-place Ukraine.
The Italian archery federation confirmed the achievement following the final day of competition on February 21, 2026, at the Plovdiv venue. Italy’s dominance was particularly evident in the individual events, where they added nine medals to the 12 team podiums earned earlier in the championships.
In the senior division, Michea Godano captured the European title in men’s compound archery, defeating France’s Girard in a dramatic shoot-off. The match remained tied at 149-149 after regulation, with Godano prevailing when his arrow landed closer to the center than his opponent’s in the extra round.
Linda Grezzani won the women’s barebow title in an all-Italian final, overcoming teammate Cinzia Noziglia in another shoot-off decided by a 6-5 score. The victory highlighted Italy’s depth in the barebow discipline, which also yielded silver for Noziglia and bronze for junior Eleonora Lai.
On the recurve front, Roberta Di Francesco earned silver although Federico Musolesi took bronze in the individual competitions. The junior recurve title went to Emiliano Rampon, completing a clean sweep of individual gold medals for Italy in the recurve, compound, and barebow categories across age groups.
Christian Maranto added to Italy’s golden haul by winning the junior compound championship, while Giulio Locchi secured the junior barebow title. These victories underscored the strength of Italy’s youth development programs in archery.
The Italian team’s performance surpassed all expectations, with their 21 total medals representing the highest ever recorded by a single nation at the European Indoor Championships. Turkey followed with 10 medals (4 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze), while Ukraine collected 9 medals (3 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze) to round out the top three.
Officials from the World Archery Europe federation noted that Italy’s medal count exceeded the combined totals of the next three nations in the standings. The achievement marks a significant milestone for Italian archery ahead of the upcoming outdoor season and future international competitions.
The championships concluded with Italy celebrating not only the team victory but also individual excellence across all three disciplines – recurve, compound, and barebow – demonstrating the nation’s comprehensive strength in the sport.
As the archery world turns its attention to the outdoor circuit, Italy enters as the clear favorite in multiple events based on their dominant indoor performance. The next major checkpoint for these athletes will be the World Cup series beginning in April, where they will aim to translate this indoor success to outdoor competition.
What are your thoughts on Italy’s historic archery achievement? Share your predictions for how this momentum will impact their outdoor season performance in the comments below.
