Canada marked a historic week at the World Archery Field Championships in northern Alberta, achieving a series of firsts on home soil. For the first time, the championships were hosted in Canada, the Canadian team fielded a record number of archers, and qualified for medal matches—culminating in a groundbreaking back-to-back medal win for the nation.

The day kicked off with Canada’s Compound U21 Mixed Team, represented by Anya Pinel and Dustin Watson, both from Ontario. In a high-stakes match against Romania’s Rares Daniel Alexandrescu and Andreea Albu, the Canadian duo dominated all four sets, claiming the bronze medal with a score of 83-72.

“I felt pretty strong today. We shot well, communicated really well on the line, and just got it done,” said Watson, participating in his second World Championships. “At the end of the day, you know you are shooting against the best in the world. You are not coming to come here to win, but you come here you hope you shoot your best and you see what happens.”

Anya Pinel, reflecting on the moment, shared her excitement: “The week was very exciting, and after the first few days I settled in and things went better. I didn’t really expect this to happen. Now I’m looking ahead to more international competitions.”

This win marks Canada’s first-ever team medal at the World Archery Field Championships. However, the day wasn’t over for Team Canada.

The Canadian Men’s Team, comprised of Jovica Djukic (SK), Andrew Fagan (ON), and Brian Maxwell (BC), faced off against Sweden’s Marcus Axelsson, Jacob Benschjöld, and Kaj Sjöberg in a closely contested bronze medal match. Each team, consisting of Barebow, Recurve, and Compound archers, traded victories in the first two ends. Canada eventually edged ahead, securing the bronze medal with a narrow 59-57 win.

“I think we all really knew what we had to do, said Brian Maxell. “It was a great feeling, to compete in front of the home crowd.”
Andrew Fagan praised the team’s collective effort: “We came in knowing we had a solid team. Everyone did a great job, we had a great barebow archer, and Brian has a ton of experience on the international stage.”

Jovica Djukic added, I woke up good, everything rested with a good night sleep. We had a good team, a good vibe on the team and everyone did their own part and we got rewarded. Everything was great here and the host, and the organizers did a phenomenal job with everything, and it was great to experience this with the rest of our Canadian team.”

Canada will continue in the finals on Sunday morning when Ameilia Gagne competes in the Gold medal match for Recurve U21 Women.

For full results from the event, please click here.