Italy’s Michea Godano swept past a series of world-class opponents to reach the compound men’s final four at Antalya 2025 – the third stage of the Hyundai Archery World Cup.
The 23-year-old athlete beat Pan American champion Sebastian Garcia in the first round, 2023 Pan American Games silver medallist Sawyer Sullivan in the third, and then – to top it off – world number one Mike Schloesser, ‘Mister Perfect’ himself and four-time Hyundai Archery World Cup Final Champion, by two points.
It wasn’t just a personal milestone – marking Godano’s debut final four on the international circuit – it also sparked jubilant celebrations from the Italian team on the shooting line. Teammates gave the emotional, teary-eyed athlete a hug after he booked his spot in Saturday’s finals.
“I’m really happy, considering with how the week started,” said Godano, who suffered a quarterfinal exit in Central Florida and a third round defeat in Shanghai, the previous two World Cup stages. “I wasn’t very satisfied [with qualification], but with time, it all came together.”
The Antalya Centennial Archery Centre has been a place of fortune for Godano in recent times, and maybe luck was in the scorching hot air in Türkiye for the Italian. He entered eliminations as the 24th seed after scoring 593 in Wednesday’s 60-arrow qualification round – not disastrous in a 68-man field, but below expectations for a world number 17.
Still, against the odds, he put together a career-best run in the largest compound men’s field of the season so far, brushing aside three higher-ranked athletes – including Schloesser, against whom he dropped nine 11s.
“It’s a nice place. It always brings good luck,” said Godano. “Hopefully, it will continue for the next few times when things are done here this year.”
