Given their regular high rankings on the world circuit, an all Mexico gold medal match was always a possibility and with all four members of the team inside the top 10, Saturday’s eliminations could make that a reality.
Mexico showed their superior dominance also in the compound women’s qualifications as they pulled off a one-two with world number one Andrea Becerra (708, 31 Xs) – the highest total score of the day across all disciplines – and 2022 Pan American mixed team gold medallist Mariana Bernal (701, 18 Xs).
“We had fun shooting here, with optimal conditions. We’re off to a good start and hope to continue adding more results in the coming days,” commented Becerra.
Two-time Olympic bronze medallist Alejandra Valencia (665) also of Mexico claimed top seed in the recurve women’s qualification at Parque del Este during the morning session whilst recent South American Championship runner-up Santiago Arcila of Colombia is the recurve men’s number one.
He dominated porceedings in the 64-athlete strong category with a 674 score (14 Xs), 13 points more than second placed Oscar Ticas from El Salvador.
Copa Merengue action returns tomorrow with the team eliminations and finals, followed by mixed team finals on Saturday.
It is also worth mentioning that separately running alongside the world ranking event at Santo Domingo this week is the qualifying tournament for the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games although not all archers in the Copa Merengue are competing in it.
You can watch Sunday’s individual medal matches of the Copa Merengue live on archery+.
