Jonathon Milne rewrites the para record book in ten days
Australia's Jonathon Milne has had four para world records ratified after a ten-day run in October, headlined by the first para 1440 round score above 1400.
The big one came on 11 October at the 78th ANSW State Target Championships in Sydney, where Milne shot 1402 for the 1440 round. The previous mark was his own, set in 2019. No para archer had previously gone over 1400 in the format, which combines four distances of 36 arrows each for a maximum of 1440.
Three more followed. Milne scored 355 for 36 arrows at 70 metres, beating a record held by Alberto Simonelli since 2005; World Archery's report gives the month but not the exact date or venue of that round. At the Australian National Championships in Hobart, Tasmania, on 24 October he then shot 354 at 50 metres and 360 at 30 metres, each over 36 arrows. Both of those marks had stood since 2007. He also already holds the 90-metre record of 344, set in 2023.
Milne put the Sydney result down to conditions as much as form. He shoots at Sydney Olympic Park, a former Sydney 2000 venue he says is nicknamed "The Wind Farm", and said of the 1402: "I knew I could be the first one to do it, I just needed the good conditions." He also said he had made "a few little form changes" and adjusted some equipment settings. Opportunities are limited, he explained: the NSW state championships and the Nationals are the only annual chances to shoot the full round at home, and weather often affects scores.
The longer-term target is LA28. Milne would aim to compete in compound archery's Olympic debut if Australia secures compound quota places, and he plans to keep competing against able-bodied archers internationally. His own verdict on the records: "It makes me want to improve on them, because I know I left points out there."
Asia Cup Leg II: Bangladesh and Kazakhstan take top team seeds
Qualification at the Sulaymaniyah 2026 Asia Cup (Leg II) in Iraq produced a tie at the top of the compound men's ranking. Bangladesh's Nawaz Ahmed Rakib topped the field on 693 with 18 Xs, ahead of Kazakhstan's Pavel Kuznetsov, also on 693 but with 17 Xs. In the women's compound, Bangladesh's Bonna Akter led on 696, with Iraq's Fatimah Saad AlMashhadani second on 693.
The recurve men's top seed was Iran's Mohammadhossein Golshani Asl on 670, with the USA's Nicholas D'Amour second on 661. Kazakhstan's Alexandra Zemlyanova led the recurve women on 658 (326 and 332 over the two halves). Bangladesh took the top team seed in the compound men's event and Kazakhstan in the recurve women's team, repeating the golds both teams won at Stage I in Bangkok.
Lima 2026: Campos Marzano and the US compound squad lead qualifying
At the Lima 2026 Para Pan American Championships, Peru's Daniela Campos Marzano topped women's recurve qualifying on 600, 36 points clear of Brazil's Fabiola Dergovics. She won at the Santiago 2026 Para Series the week before. Mexico's defending champion Samuel Molina led the recurve men on 647.
In compound, the USA's Kevin Polish, world number four, scored 698 to lead a US top three with Ephraim Tonn-Bourg and Ben Thompson in a 21-archer field. In W1, Canada's Spencer Arnold won men's qualifying on countback over teammate Daniel Comeau after both scored 642, and 19-year-old Kimberly Garcia of the USA led the women on 586.
Dakar 2026: Youth Olympic archery field confirmed
World Archery has confirmed the final line-ups for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games: 32 under-18 recurve archers in each of the men's and women's events, 64 in all, with 50 of them also in the mixed team tournament. Thirty-nine nations are listed, and Algeria, Guinea and Tunisia make their first Youth Olympic appearances in archery, as do Georgia, the UAE and Uzbekistan. It is the fourth Youth Olympics with archery and the first in Africa, at Abdoulaye Wade Stadium.
What to watch
The Sulaymaniyah team and mixed team eliminations begin Monday, and Lima's team eliminations follow on Friday, alongside Parapan American qualifiers; next year's Parapan American Games are also in Lima. African archers are due in Dakar from 6 to 10 November.