Paris – Sept 21, 2013: Lebecque, Host country France upset the top team of the season Italy to win the gold medal of the compound mixed team event at the World Cup Final.
The Italian pair made of Sergio PAGNI and Marcella TONIOLI was the favourite in this final. The current world champions enjoy shooting together and have dominated the mixed team event this year: bronze medallists in Shanghai, they won gold medals in Antalya and Medellin, and the silver at the World Games.
The French colours are defended by Pierre-Julien DELOCHE and Pascale LEBECQUE. The former is the recent winner of the Wroclaw World Cup, while the latter was the World Championships silver medallist. Earlier today, PAGNI defeated DELOCHE in the individual quarter-finals, and has a shot at a third World Cup Final victory this afternoon. His partner TONIOLI has also won individual titles in the World Cup.
Since these two countries first met in the mixed team event in 2011, Italy led the victory count 5-2, which includes two victories in 2013.
Today, the final started with France taking an early lead 39-38. Four 10s in the second end allowed the DELOCHE and LEBECQUE to increase their lead to two points. However Italy recovered one point, and trailed by only one point before the final four arrows. The gap remained the same as both teams concluded with the same score of 39 points. Victory and gold medal for France, 157-155!
It is only the second time in history, after Denmark upset Italy in 2009, that the host team defeats the top team of the season in this mixed team event.
“It’s an enormous thing to win here in such a magnificent spot. We knew what we were going to feel since Monday when we arrived and now that we won it’s perfect. My defeat in my individual quarter-final didn’t affect me as I had one and a half hour between these two matches”, commented LEBECQUE.
“We had a lot of fun from the first until the last arrow. The Trocadero and the Eiffel Tower are very important symbols for us; singing the French National Anthem in the middle of these two monuments is something great and we were deeply touched by this, as many people were here”, added DELOCHE. —- World Archery Communication
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