Turkish archer breaks world record

ISTANBUL

Turkish archer Mete Gazoz broke the world record in the junior category and the European record in the senior category on April 10 at an international archery tournament.

The 19-year-old scored 698 out of a possible 720 points for the 72-arrow 70-meter ranking round at the opening European Grand Prix of the year in Bucharest.

“I was nervous,” Gazoz told worldarchery.org after the competition.

“I kept calculating the scores in my head. My coach kept saying not to think about score but focus on my routine. I listened to him,” said the archer, who closed qualification with ends of 60, 59 and 59.

“We worked really hard during the winter and I believe this has made me strong. I’m really happy that all the effort is paying off,” he added.

Gazoz’s 698 is the highest score ever shot in international competition outside of the Olympic Games.

Kim Woojin holds the world record with 700, shot at Rio 2016. Im Dong Hyun scored 699 and Kim Bubmin had 698 at London 2012.

Gazoz won the recurve men’s and breakthrough athlete of the year awards in 2018. Early in 2019, the 19-year-old has put forward the best score of this early season and one of the top five in history.