The Dutch international Sanne De Laat is now a decade into her international career, but she shot exceptionally in Antalya, winning compound women’s team and compound mixed team gold – the only athlete to leave the championships with two gold medals.
The 31-year-old delivered under pressure in both finals, anchoring the Dutch teams just as she did when partnering Mike Schloesser to mixed team gold at the Hyundai World Archery Championships in Gwangju last year.
She also lent her spare bow to Tanja Gellenthien for much of the week following an airline mishap, another example of the camaraderie that often exists within the archery community.
The Netherlands enjoyed an outstanding championships overall. Willem Bakker finally secured his first major outdoor target title after years of near misses, while Schloesser narrowly missed another final after losing a shoot-off to Przemyslaw Konecki before responding with a perfect 150 in the bronze medal match.
We could also mention one of our Ones to Watch, Fenna Stallen, who collected team gold at her first major senior championship at just 15 years old.
It was a strong week for the Dutch team, but none shone brighter than De Laat.
