Yankton 2026 World Field Championships: Maiden Titles in the Mud
Yankton 2026 World Field Championships results: Unruh, Kaufhold, Fullerton, Gibson and Italy's barebow archers won gold after heavy rain hit the courses.
By Archery Insider Editorial Team
· · 2 min read
In this article
The 2026 World Archery Field Championships were held at the NFAA Easton Yankton Archery Center in Yankton, South Dakota, in the last week of September 2026, with individual finals on 26 and 27 September. Heavy rain forced organisers to shorten two marked courses during qualifying for safety, and defending compound champion Paige Pearce said competitors "skied more than we walked" on the muddy slopes.
Individual champions
| Division | Gold | Silver |
|---|---|---|
| Recurve men | Florian Unruh (GER) | Brady Ellison (USA) |
| Recurve women | Casey Kaufhold (USA), 62–52 | Audrey Machinet (FRA) |
| Compound men | Mathias Fullerton (DEN), 72–71 | Gaius Carter (USA) |
| Compound women | Ella Gibson (GBR) | Paige Pearce (USA) |
| Barebow men | Giuseppe Seimandi (ITA) | Erik Jonsson |
| Barebow women | Eleonora Strobbe (ITA) | — |
Unruh trailed Ellison by two points going into the last target and won with a maximum six on his final arrow. Fullerton, the world number one, qualified only 13th but won his first world title by a single point. Gibson's win returned her to world number one. Strobbe's title came 16 years after her first world field championship in 2010.
Team events
| Event | Gold |
|---|---|
| Men's team | USA (Gaius Carter, Ryan Davis, Brady Ellison), after a shoot-off against Italy |
| Women's team | USA (Paige Pearce, Erin Hollom, Casey Kaufhold) |
| Recurve mixed team | Australia (Alexandra Feeney, Ryan Tyack) |
| Compound mixed team | USA (Gaius Carter, Paige Pearce) |
| Barebow mixed team | Italy (Cinzia Noziglia, Matteo Uggeri) |
The United States won the Champion of Nations title, with New Zealand second and Australia third.
3D Worlds followed at the same venue
The World Archery 3D Championships ran at Yankton immediately afterwards, from 28 September to 3 October 2026. After qualification, defending champion Cinzia Noziglia led barebow women by 20 points, Nico Wiener led compound men with 1007 of a possible 1056, and France's David Jackson led barebow men by 22 points. We will update this article with final results once World Archery publishes them.
Why it matters
Field archery remains the discipline where recurve, compound and barebow archers compete at the same championships, and the 2026 edition produced first world titles for three of the most prominent target archers of the decade. Hosting field and 3D back to back in one venue is also a model World Archery has not used before.
Sources
- Gibson, Fullerton, Kaufhold take maiden world titles after dramatic World Field finals – World Archery
- USA dominate team events as 2026 World Field wraps in Yankton – World Archery
- Heavy rain forces shortened qualifying at Yankton 2026 – World Archery
- Preview: World Archery 3D Championships follow world field in Yankton – World Archery
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