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PARIS, France – At the Final World Qualification Tournament today, USA’s Tokyo men’s slate earned their full berth of three quota spots for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Led by 3x Olympic Medalist, 5x World Cup Final Champion, World Champion, World No. 1 and World Record Holder Brady Ellison, London 2012 Team Silver Medalist Jacob Wukie returns to the Games after a long international hiatus with Jack Williams, who was 9th in the world in the 2019 season in his debut Olympic performance.
The incredibly strong trio spent the last week together in France, training for the final qualification event that awards the full team quota placement for only three nations. They found their rhythm and came to play. Williams was solid and strong through qualification, while Ellison and Wukie steadily picked up steam to put the team in first headed into match play. With many powerhouse teams left to qualify, that top ranking was critical.
USA cruised through the 1/8th round against Slovenia and their quarterfinal with Spain, taking easy 6-2 victories. In the semifinals, they scored 57, 58 and 59 across three straight sets in the wind to seal the win and guarantee their spots for Tokyo. Their last three arrows each found the center of the X ring for a perfect finishing score.
Williams, who shot last as the anchor, needed only a 6 to win: “That last X in the semifinal really felt like an amazing shot,” he shared. “It’s something we’ve trained for over and over at the [Chula Vista Elite Athlete] training center playing Gold Game. I would have been ready to shoot that 10 whenever, but being able to lay back, aim in the middle, make a good strong shot when I needed, felt really good. It showed everybody that we’re here to play.”
Ellison agreed: “It’s absolutely awesome to have the team going to Tokyo. We’ve always said we didn’t have any doubts, but this last chance qualifier is tough; there’s only three spots and a lot of amazing teams. We had good weather for a lot of the day and then it got read dark, rainy and windy, but in general it was a good day. We went out there and shot great in our matches and that semifinal match just shows what kind of team we are and what we’re capable of.”
The men are slated to shoot for gold later today after a weather delay clears, but their tickets are already punched. “We want to push through and go win the gold medal here and keep practicing, take every match we can to get ready for Tokyo,” added Ellison. “I think if you look at our scores today and what we did under the pressure, we are a gold medal winning team and we are ready for Tokyo. With another two weeks of us training together and spending more time together in Japan, we’re just going to get better.”
Complete results from today’s competition are available at www.worldarchery.org. Competition resumes tomorrow with the women’s team final qualification tournament, where USA will again attempt to earn the full team berth for Tokyo.
About USA Archery
USA Archery is the National Governing Body for the Olympic sport of archery in the United States. USA Archery selects and trains Olympic, Paralympic, World Championship, and World Cup teams, as well as developing archery at the grassroots level across the United States. For more information, visit www.usarchery.org.
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