Canales and Temiño Mediel’s silver in Shanghai 2024 and bronze in Yecheon 2024 proved they were no slouches, but no one could have expected them to topple Korea in their own backyard last September. In fact, they weren’t among the main favourites for the event for some.
Yet they did it, securing Spain’s first-ever World Archery Championships gold medal. Temiño Mediel then carried that form into the individual competition, later claiming the recurve men’s individual world title.
What today proved, however, is that Gwangju was no fluke – far from it.
Paris alone showed that Ellison and Kaufhold can turn the switch on when it comes to the biggest tournaments, having won eight medals across various World Cups, Pan American Championships and the Pan American Games over the last seven years.
Canales and Temiño Mediel have been shooting together internationally for not even half that time, so to send them packing 5-1, shortly followed by beating Korea in the last end of the quarterfinals 39-38 – just one arrow shy of a perfect set – is nothing short of impressive.
Gwangju will always stay in the hearts of the duo and the entirety of Spanish archery, but given how short-lived their campaign at Madrid 2025 was – exiting in the first round to Korea – a gold medal in the capital on Sunday would show that the sport in the country is well and truly on the rise.
That loss from last year still pains the recently crowned European Outdoor bronze medallists.
“What I remember from last year is that we shot quite well, but we lost by a very small margin. I think it was in the fourth set.”
“It annoyed me because, in the end, experiencing a final at home was something very special, but we didn’t manage it. This year we did,” said Temiño Mediel who shot six of his eight arrows against Italy in the 10-ring.
More medal opportunities will be up for grabs for his teammate Canales in the individual eliminations tomorrow who shoots in the 1/16 round in the morning. Temiño Mediel was knocked out in the 1/24 round.
