What are the World Archery Championships?
Target archery's world titles, held since 1931 and now staged biennially in odd-numbered years by World Archery. Ten medals are contested — men's individual, women's individual, men's team, women's team and mixed team, in each of the recurve and compound divisions. A 72-arrow ranking round at 70 m for recurve and 50 m for compound seeds a head-to-head elimination bracket.[1] [2]
| Season | Pool / Format | Host cities |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Recurve: Andrés Temiño (ESP) · Kang Chae-young (KOR) | Gwangju (KOR) — 501 archers, 74 nations |
| 2023 | Recurve: Mete Gazoz (TUR) · Marie Horáčková (CZE) | Berlin (GER) — India topped the table |
| 2021 | Recurve: Kim Woo-jin (KOR) · Jang Min-hee (KOR) | Yankton (USA) |
| 2019 | Recurve: Brady Ellison (USA) · Lei Chien-ying (TPE) | 's-Hertogenbosch (NED) |
| 2027 | — scheduled: opens LA28 qualification | Medellín (COL) — first in South America |
Recent editions — recurve individual champions and the leading nation.
How do archers qualify?
There is no qualifying event: every member association in good standing may enter, capped at three athletes per category. Preliminary entries close 90 days out and final entries 21 days out, and a category is not contested unless at least twelve individuals and six teams enter. The championships instead work in the other direction — they hand out Olympic places.[2] [3]
How does Olympic qualification work through them?
The world championships are the first and largest Olympic qualifier of each cycle. For LA28, the 2027 edition in Medellín awards three team quotas — nine athlete places — per gender to the leading teams, with athletes also required to have shot a minimum qualification score (650 for recurve men, 620 for recurve women over 70 m). Compound joins the Olympic programme at LA28, so Medellín carries quota weight in both divisions for the first time.[3] [4]
Who wins?
South Korea remains the reference point, but no longer sweeps: they took two of ten golds at Gwangju 2025, and India topped the table at Berlin 2023 with three, all in compound. Recent recurve individual champions include Spain's Andrés Temiño and Korea's Kang Chae-young in 2025, Türkiye's Mete Gazoz in 2023 and the United States' Brady Ellison in 2019.[2] [4]
References
- World Archery — World Archery Championships. Accessed August 2026.
- World Archery — Rulebook, Book 2 (Events). Accessed August 2026.
- World Archery — LA28 Olympic qualification pathway. Accessed August 2026.
- World Archery — Medellín awarded the 2027 World Archery Championships. Accessed August 2026.