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DUBLIN, Ohio - USA Archery's 135th U.S. National Target Championships, U.S. Open and 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials - Archery, Stage 1 kick off in Ohio this week with record shattering participation of over 500 archers.
Competition features two days of 72-arrow qualification rounds to crown U.S. National Target Champions. For participants in the Trials, these rounds also garner the first points towards Olympic nomination. Learn more about the Olympic qualification process.
In the afternoon, archers can participate in fun, friendly team and mixed team events!
Saturday, the U.S. Open individual elimination matches showcase intense head to head elimination matches. Gold medal finals will be broadcast live on Eleven Sports network, and on USA Archery's Facebook page via Competition Archery Media. This event is free and open to the public to attend. Light fare is provided for spectators and drink tickets are available for purchase.
Among the incredible lineup of archers participating are World Champions, Olympians, Paralympians, World No. 1s and world record holders. World Champion James Lutz is on a hot streak, USA's Alexis Ruiz and Braden Gellenthien top the world rankings, and Gellenthien and Paige Pearce are coming directly from historic medal finishes at the Pan American Games.
Competing in the Trials are Olympic legends including 3x medalist Brady Ellison, London 2012 team silver medalist Jacob Wukie, Sydney 2000 silver and team bronze medalist Vic Wunderle, five-time Olympians Khatuna Lorig and Richard "Butch" Johnson, and making a hotly-anticipated return, Atlanta 1996 double gold medalist Justin Huish.
Teenage rising superstars to watch include world team members Casey Kaufhold and Jack Williams, who have made quite impressive marks on the international circuit this year, Youth Olympic Champion Trenton Cowles, Youth Olympian Catalina GNoriega, and cadet world record holder Joonsuh Oh. These young archers will make a run for the 2020 Olympic Team, and are gearing up to head to the World Archery Youth Championships in Madrid, Spain right after Nationals.
Headlining the para competition are all four of Team USA's reigning World Archery Para Champions - Ben Thompson, Michael Lukow, Eric Bennett and Timothy Palumbo, and Paralympic Champion Andre Shelby.
Masters standouts to follow this week include Dee and Scott Starnes, Alanna Dunaway, Sue Bock, and Tom Stevenson, Rick Stonebraker and Ben Rogers.
Barebow icon John Demmer III and defending national champion Sarah Briscoe are in this week's lineup along with top archers including John Dillinger, Jenifer Stoner and Amy Rayner-Cooley. The senior barebow gold medal matches will be included in this weekend's live broadcast.
Live results from the competition will be available here. Live broadcast of the U.S. Open Gold Finals will be available on Eleven Sports on linear programming and on USA Archery's Facebook page. Daily photos are available on USA Archery's photo site. For more, follow USA Archery on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
About USA Archery
USA Archery is the National Governing Body for the Olympic sport of archery in the United States. USA Archery selects and trains Olympic, Paralympic, World Championship, and World Cup teams, as well as developing archery at the grassroots level across the United States. For more information, visit www.usarchery.org.
Media Contact
Sarah Boyd
201.919.8050