Like he tells me a lot like, like, “remember your breathing”, “good timing”, “just be comfortable”, you know, “shoot your shot”, “nothing special”.
“He tells me things like ‘remember your breathing’, ‘good timing’, ‘just be comfortable’, ‘shoot your shot’.”
The communication was not one-way.
“When I get up there and put a shot in the middle that feels good but hits a right nine, I’ll say, ‘Okay, that one drifted a ring.’ It’s just that communication so we’re on the same page.”
With a headwind picking up, Kaufhold and Ellison knew they had to execute.
“I want to shoot every arrow as if the other team has shot perfect the whole time. When I went back and watched the match, I was like, ‘Oh wow, we had quite a lead going into that last set.’ But in the moment, I didn’t even think about it. I just had to shoot one more good arrow.”
The good arrows came. The USA won 3-1, with Kaufhold closing out the match with a nine.
“I don’t remember going as crazy as I did,” she smiled, remembering the emotions that poured out of her. “Anytime I watch it, it makes me tear up.”
“Relief is the biggest emotion. When you put your whole life into something and you see it pay off – hundreds of thousands of arrows, so many hours, all the travel, all the time away from home – and it finally comes together.”
“But I was so grateful to see that Brady was as equally as excited as I was.”
