The Netherlands’ Willem Bakker became the new European recurve men’s champion at the 2026 European Outdoor Championships in Antalya, beating Italy’s Mauro Nespoli 6-2 in the gold medal match.
“It was amazing,” said the 25-year-old. “It felt unreal. I was like, ‘Oh, I hope I get it,’ when I walked on.”
Bakker was the European field champion in 2023 and won bronze in the same discipline at last year’s World Games.
The victory caps a strong week for the Netherlands, which also won compound mixed team gold and compound women’s team gold, alongside Mike Schloesser’s bronze medal in the compound men’s individual event.
“I mean, the whole week was just crazy,” Bakker said. “Yesterday with the compounds, we had a lot of success. We got two teams that became European champions. And Mikey as well shot a beautiful bronze medal. I just wanted to make it a third title.”
His opponent Nespoli – coached by Italian legend Michele Frangilli, who won this title in 2002 – opened with a seven and an eight in the first set but responded strongly in the second.
However, the Italian never quite found the 10-ring when he needed it thereafter, and Bakker soon built a 4-2 advantage.
A high-pressure final arrow from the Dutchman, which edged into the 10, was enough to seal victory in the fourth set.
In the bronze medal match, a relaxed-looking Mete Gazoz made full use of home advantage to defeat France’s Baptiste Addis.
