Elif Gokkir delivered under scoreboard pressure to win the recurve women’s individual gold at the European Grand Prix Spring Arrows in Antalya.
The final marked the first meeting between the two athletes, who had already set the tone earlier in the week by finishing Wednesday’s qualification as the top two seeds – Marie Horackova leading the field on 674, a score bettered only by three men’s athletes across both recurve categories, while Gokkir followed closely with 668.
As she had done four days prior, Horackova started strongly at the Antalya Centennial Centre, opening with a 30-point set to edge the first end.
It was a confident display to begin with from the Czech archer, competing in her first outdoor international event of the year, but unfortunately for her it would be the last time in the match she would win an end.
The second set finished tied at 28-28 before both athletes matched each other arrow-for-arrow in a 29-29 split in the third, leaving the match finely balanced at 3-3.
The fourth set therefore felt like it would be the most defining – and it was.
2024 European Youth gold medallist Gokkir delivered her only perfect 30, taking her total number of 10s up to nine, while the 2023 World champion Horackova shot back-to-back high eights, one on the left-hand side and one to the right.
Her form did not look any different than in the opening set, but clearly something was amiss as she looked troubled after giving up her lead for the first time in the contest.
It bled into the fifth as her following arrow landed low, very low into the seven-ring, leaving her with an unlikely mountain to climb, as steep as the ones that surround the Turkish city of Antalya.
