Coming off a relatively quiet 2013, Olympic medalist Brady Ellison has been on a roll as of late. With a victory at the Pan American Championships and striking gold, twice, in the team and individual events at the World Archery Field Championships, Ellison is back in the limelight. Most recently, he furthered his current reign by propelling himself into a class all his own by becoming the first recurve archer in history to win the much-coveted World Cup Final three times.
"It was a good win," Ellison said. "I shot good, finally, and I hope this reminds everyone that I am still here and have not gone away."
And this, his record-setting third World Cup, didn't come easy. Ellison's first opponent, Olympic champion Oh Jin Hyek of Korea, ranked second in the world, created a 5-5 tie in the quarterfinals and pushed the match to a one-arrow shoot-off. Both archers hit perfect 10s, but Ellison's was closer to the center, giving him the victory.
In the semifinals, Ellison was once again pushed to the limit by third-ranked Rick van der Ven, but emerged with a decisive 6-4 victory.
The last match of the day paired Ellison against 16-year-old Brazilian Marcus D'Almeida. The showdown ended in 5-5 tie, but Ellison won with a closer 9 in the shoot-off.
"Hopefully, I will continue this," Ellison told World Archery after his victory. "I'm looking forward to the indoor season."
As for the future, Ellison noted that he will once again be ready for next year's World Championships and plans to start preparing for the 2016 Olympics.
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