Mete Gazoz comfortably defeated Mauro Nespoli to win recurve men’s gold at the fourth and final stage of the 2026 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Madrid.
The final offered a rematch of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games gold medal match, won by Gazoz 6-4, and another chapter in one of recurve archery’s most familiar rivalries.
Nespoli had also beaten the Türkiye archer in the semifinals of this year’s European Outdoor Championships, but Madrid belonged to Gazoz.
The reigning European Champion handled the occasionally gusting conditions at Complutense National Stadium superbly, opening with ends of 29 and 30 before building what looked set to become a commanding victory.
Nespoli’s third end of 10, 8, 7 left Gazoz needing only a six with his final arrow to secure gold. Although the Turkish archer was pulled well right by a late gust, the six was enough to complete a 6-0 victory.
“I wasn’t expecting that, but I had made a really good decision,” Gazoz laughed afterwards.
“Everything was great. Just as I was about to make the final shot, the wind hit really hard and pulled the bow to the right. It went for a six. I mean, whatever number of points I need to hit, I’ll hit that one.”
