Marie Horackova ticked off one of the few remaining milestones in her career as she came from a set down to reach the recurve women’s final four at the fourth stage of the 2026 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Madrid.
Already Czechia’s only World Archery Champion and the holder of the European recurve women’s record, Horackova had remarkably never reached a Hyundai Archery World Cup semifinal despite establishing herself among the world’s leading recurve archers in recent years.
That changed on Friday.
After opening with a disappointing 24 in the first set against Essen 2024 European Champion Katharina Bauer, the 28-year-old responded superbly with ends of 29, 28 and 29 to secure a 6-2 victory.
“It’s been an amazing feeling to finally, finally get it,” said Horackova after embracing boyfriend and fellow Czech archer Adam Li and the rest of the Czechia team at Vallehermoso Stadium.
She said she was particularly pleased with how she handled the day, knowing a second-place qualification had given her a genuine opportunity to reach the semifinals but that the elimination matches would still be far from straightforward.
“I had quite difficult matches, but I’m very happy that I kept myself in the process and didn’t let the desire for the result catch me.”
Horackova added that patience had been the key throughout the day, while the lighter winds compared with previous days also made conditions more manageable.
“For the heat, we are almost used to it at this point. I don’t know what else to say. I’m just very happy.”
It is remarkable that it took Horackova 20 Hyundai Archery World Cup appearances to reach a semifinal.
