Boston born Braden admittedly maybe on the tired side but his wife Tanja, who he has now lived with in the States for three years, is eager to make the most of the archery competitions Europe has to offer coming back from a pregnancy.
“It feels great to be back again; I really missed it,” said the 2021 European Champion who defeated three-time World Archery Field Champion Paige Pearce in the Lausanne bronze medal match by one point.
“I know I missed a couple of tournaments, but I still need a little practice to feel like myself, even though the scores might be there, but the muscles aren’t quite there.”
“I think I came here with no expectations and just see how it went,” added the 29-year-old.
No expectations, little practise, little sleep but still it turned out to be a highly successful trip to Switzerland, which Braden labelled a “second home”.
What is different about these two, however, compared to the Ellisons and the Schloessers, is that they are both in the same event, whereas as one of each of the others compete in recurve or compound.
For the moment, Braden and Tanja’s full focus will be on bringing up Thor, but once they have found a way to balance parenting with the persistent nature of the sporting calendar, there may well be a chance to make a name as the power couple of compound archery with potentially a family dynasty on the way.
What was a perfect family trip for the Gellenthiens could turn out to be the start of something even more special.
Header image courtesy of Gas Pro.
