As the Archery World Cup celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2026, one of its most influential innovations continues to reshape competition: the mixed team event.
What began as a way to bring men and women together has also become one of the sport’s most demanding disciplines.
With the clock ticking down and the pressure building, Estonia’s Lisell and Robin Jaatma have little time to adjust.
Lisell knows it. She prefers to shoot deliberately, settling into her rhythm. But in mixed team archery, that instinct has to give way.
“I like doing everything slowly. I need my time,” she said. “But with mixed team, you don’t have it.”
There are 80 seconds on the clock and four arrows to share. One hesitation can cost a teammate valuable time.
Robin, her brother and frequent mixed team partner, approaches it differently. A self-described “puncher”, he leans into the pace.
“Sometimes, when I don’t have much time, I actually shoot better,” he said. “I’m not trying to be perfect. I just put the fibre in the middle and send it.”
Together, that contrast has already produced results, including a silver medal at the first stage of the 2024 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Shanghai. It’s a balance of opposites – one archer adapting, the other embracing the speed – that captures the essence of mixed team, the fastest format in archery.
