Sara Lopez Claims Compound Gold | Archery Weekly Jul 27–Aug 2

Three international events closed out the week, and every one of them produced results worth paying attention to. From a one-arrow shoot-off in the Dominican Republic to Namibia’s most productive championship haul in recent memory, July 27 through August 2 gave the archery world plenty to chew on heading into the back half of 2026.

Lopez and Pizarro Dominate Compound at the Central American and Caribbean Games

Sara Lopez isn’t the kind of archer who talks herself up before a final. “Maya Becerra is the best archer in the world right now,” she said before stepping onto the line against Mexico’s Andrea Maya Becerra Arizaga. “We have a rivalry where sometimes she beats me and sometimes I beat her.” On July 29 in Santo Domingo, it was Lopez’s turn. She won 147-145 in a tight final that came down to the last end, adding another regional gold to a collection that already spans more than a decade of compound dominance.

Colombia’s compound women took bronze in the team event, but Lopez made it count where it mattered — claiming both the individual gold and, alongside Pablo Gomez Zuluaga, the mixed team title. For Colombia, that’s three compound medals at one Games from essentially one athlete doing most of the heavy lifting.

The men’s compound final was decided by a single arrow. Puerto Rico’s Jean Pizarro Latorre and Mexico’s Rodrigo Gonzalez De Alba both finished five ends tied at 144, forcing a shoot-off where whoever landed closer to center took the title. Pizarro’s arrow did. “You feel the weight of the entire year on that single arrow,” he said afterward. Pizarro also noted that qualifying for the 2027 Pan American Games was his team’s primary goal coming in — the gold was a bonus that confirmed Puerto Rico is no longer just a mid-table compound program.

El Salvador ran away with both compound team golds, beating Mexico’s higher-ranked squads in the men’s final (237-233) and women’s final (223-222). Colombia took the compound mixed team title over Guatemala 156-154. For a small Central American program, El Salvador’s depth in the compound discipline is a genuine story — their men’s and women’s rosters both beat favorites on the same day.

Mexico Leaves Santo Domingo with Every Recurve Title

While El Salvador and Colombia were winning compound events, Mexico’s recurve squad was putting on a clinic. Matias Grande took the men’s individual title 6-4 over Colombia’s Jorge Enriquez — though Grande was less than satisfied. He cited difficult wind conditions on finals day and left the venue already thinking about what he should have shot instead of what he did. That kind of self-critical edge from a gold medalist is worth noting; it’s the same mindset that keeps elite recurve archers at the top for years at a stretch. If you’re following the recurve scene, Brady Ellison’s career arc gives useful context on what sustained recurve excellence looks like at the highest level.

Alejandra Valencia Trujillo won the women’s individual title 6-2, facing her own teammate Ana Paula Vazquez Flores in an all-Mexico final — the same matchup that played out at Barranquilla 2018. Mexico also claimed all three recurve team golds: men’s team (5-3 over Colombia), women’s team (5-1 over Colombia), and the mixed team (6-0 over Colombia with Valencia and Grande combining for four bullseyes in the final end). It was a complete sweep of the recurve programme, and it wasn’t particularly close.

African Archery Championships: Algeria Dominates, Namibia Punches Above Its Weight

The 15th African Archery Championships ran July 21-26 in Oran, Algeria, and the host nation left with the most gold medals. Algeria’s Imadeddine Bakri beat Egypt’s top seed Bahaaeldin Aly 6-0 in the recurve men’s final — a result that surprised at least Bakri himself, who admitted he expected the match to go longer. His quote after: “I was expecting it to go to a shoot-off, but it ended 6-0.” For the record, Bakri is now the first Algerian man to win the African recurve title.

Tunisia’s Roua Ben Abdelkader won the recurve women’s title in a shoot-off against Algeria’s Rania Hachani. It was a case of the home crowd cheering for the wrong archer — Hachani had been expected to take the gold on home soil. Ben Abdelkader held her nerve and won the one-arrow decider.

The real headline from Oran is Namibia. Seven athletes. Seven medals, including four compound golds. By any efficiency measure, that’s one of the most productive small-programme performances at a continental championships in recent memory. Senegal’s Aliou Drame claimed para compound gold for the third consecutive time. Nigeria finished with six medals total — one gold, five silver, and a bronze. The African programme is developing faster than most coverage suggests.

World Field Archery Championships Closes Out in Yankton

The IFAA World Field Archery Championships ran July 25 through August 1 at the NFAA Easton Yankton Archery Center in South Dakota, immediately following the NFAA Outdoor National Field Championships (July 24-26). Back-to-back national and world titles at the same venue gave Yankton ten straight days of high-level competition — over 400 archers, athletes from 16-plus countries. Full results were not available by publication time, but the event has a track record of producing first-time world champions from nations that rarely get press at World Archery events. Field archery’s terrain-based format (archers shoot across varied natural ground rather than flat target ranges) rewards a different skill set than target archery, and Yankton’s course is widely considered one of the most technically demanding in the world.

For a primer on what compound archers looked like at last month’s World Cup stage in Madrid — and to get a sense of the form these athletes are carrying into the second half of the season — the highlights below are worth a watch.

Pope & Young Pushes Back on Alaska’s Electronic Sight Proposals

On July 15, Pope & Young Club went public with its opposition to two proposals before the Alaska Board of Game that would expand what equipment is legal during restricted archery seasons. The concern isn’t abstract. Proposal 2 would allow verifiers, clarifiers, and non-electronic scopes. Proposal 3 goes further: electronic scopes, electronic sights that don’t project external light, and range-finding bow sights that automatically calculate distance and adjust the aiming point.

Pope & Young Executive Director Justin Spring put the objection plainly: “As more technology is introduced and allowed during archery seasons, success rates increase, which ultimately decreases hunting opportunities.” The logic is conservation-based — bowhunting’s shorter effective range and the skill required to close that range is what gets bowhunters access to seasons and areas that firearm hunters don’t get. Closing the gap between archery and rifle performance changes the equation that justified those privileges in the first place. The Alaskan Bowhunters Association and the Professional Bowhunters Society are both opposing the proposals.

The debate isn’t going away. Electronic range-finding sights like the Burris Oracle have been legal under some state regulations for years, and bowhunters are genuinely divided on where to draw the line. Understanding how your equipment choices interact with your specific regulations is worth the research. If you’re thinking about upgrading your rest or sighting system ahead of fall, our breakdown of drop-away vs containment arrow rests covers what actually matters for hunting accuracy.

The Bows Everyone Is Talking About Before Hunting Season

Three compounds came out of the 2026 ATA Show as the ones bowhunters are actually buying: the Mathews ARC 30, the Bowtech Alliance (which won Best New Bow at the show), and the PSE Sicario Carbon, which hits 357 fps IBO speed at a price point well below most flagship compounds. The full 2026 bow roundup at Outdoor News runs through nine models in detail for anyone still deciding.

The Bowtech Alliance’s DeadLock cam system is the primary talking point — it gives shooters cam timing adjustment without a bow press, which matters in the field when you need to dial something in fast. The PSE Sicario Carbon appeals to hunters who want maximum speed at a reasonable budget. The Mathews ARC 30 is the short-ATA option for hunters who spend time in tight blinds or tree stands. Getting the shot angle right matters regardless of which bow you’re shooting — our guide on deer shot placement for bowhunting covers the five angles that matter most.

4-Finger Metal Compound Bow Release Aid →

Looking Ahead

The inaugural USAT Series Final lands August 12 in Springfield, Missouri, on the practice day before the USA Archery Target Nationals and U.S. Open. USA Archery is putting $50,000 in prize money on the line — eight athletes per gender in recurve, compound, and barebow, running head-to-head elimination matches under World Archery rules starting at 6 PM. Gold medal matches the same night. For a domestic circuit that’s been building momentum all season through the USAT Qualifier Series, this is the first real pressure test with a payout attached. Watch USA Archery’s event page for the athlete list once qualifiers confirm.

Later in the season, the Saltillo 2026 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final will bring the top compound and recurve athletes from the full World Cup circuit together for the season-ending showdown. If Sara Lopez keeps the form she showed in Santo Domingo — and at the Puebla World Cup stage in April — she’ll arrive in Saltillo as a serious contender for the compound women’s title.

Arrow Grain Weight Scale →

Sources

1. World Archery — Jean Pizarro Latorre, Sara Lopez win compound golds at Santo Domingo 2026
2. World Archery Americas — Lopez and Pizarro are the Compound Champions in Santo Domingo 2026
3. World Archery — Mexico retains recurve crown, El Salvador shines in compound in Santo Domingo
4. World Archery — Ben Abdelkader turns silver into gold to wrap up Oran 2026
5. NFAA — 2026 Outdoor Archery Season Set to Take Over Yankton
6. Bowhunting.com — Preserve the Primitive Hunt: The Threat to Bowhunting
7. Outdoor News — Best Compound Bows for the 2026 Hunting Season
8. USA Archery — Confirms addition to 2026 calendar: the USAT Series Final