Plovdiv, Bulgaria — one of Europe's oldest inhabited cities, built on seven hills and celebrated as the European Capital of Culture in 2019 — proved a worthy stage for one of archery's most comprehensive continental showdowns. The 22nd edition of the European Indoor Archery Championships, held at the Kolodrum Arena from February 16-21, 2026, brought together 315 archers from 27 nations competing across recurve, compound, and barebow disciplines in both senior and under-21 age categories.
The 2026 edition carried extra historical weight: for the first time in the championship's history, mixed team events were added to the programme at both senior and under-21 level — a direct reflection of the growing importance of the format on the international stage ahead of its Olympic debut at LA 2028. The expanded format delivered thrilling team finals that proved an immediate hit with competitors and spectators alike.
When the medals were all tallied, one nation stood alone at the top of the table: Italy, with an astonishing 21 podiums across the week — 11 golds, 4 silvers, and 6 bronzes.
Competition Format
- Dates: February 16–21, 2026 — qualification and team events Monday-Friday, individual eliminations and finals Saturday.
- Venue: Kolodrum Arena, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
- Disciplines: Recurve, Compound, and Barebow in senior and under-21 categories; individual, team, and mixed team events.
- New for 2026: Mixed team events at both senior and under-21 level making their European Indoor Championships debut.
- Field: 315 athletes, 27 countries.
- Top seeds: Nicolas Girard (FRA, world rank 3) in compound men; Amanda Mlinaric (CRO, world rank 8) in compound women; Matteo Borsani (ITA) in recurve men; Chiara Rebagliati (ITA) in recurve women.
Recurve Events
Men's Recurve — Team and Individual
Israel delivered the biggest team shock of the championships by defeating the Italian juggernaut in the recurve men's team event — a stunning result that underlined the growing depth of Israeli recurve archery on the international stage. Israel's triumph was complemented by gold in the recurve mixed team event, meaning the Israeli squad left Plovdiv with two of the most coveted recurve team titles of the competition. Italy's Matteo Borsani — the world number eight and top recurve men's seed — nonetheless performed with distinction through the individual competition.
Italy's women's recurve trio of Roberta Di Francesco, Loredana Spera, and Chiara Rebagliati demonstrated their depth by setting a new national team record in qualification with a combined score of 1,763 — their best-ever recording over 18 metres, breaking an 18-year-old mark set in 2008. Roberta Di Francesco led the recurve women's qualification with 590 points, narrowly ahead of France's Lisa Barbelin (589) and her compatriot Loredana Spera (585).
Women's Recurve — Bronze for France's Barbelin
Lisa Barbelin — fresh from her bronze medal performance at Nimes a month earlier — continued her fine indoor form in Plovdiv, adding a continental individual bronze to her growing collection of major stage podiums. The French Olympic medallist's run through the Plovdiv eliminations was further proof of her remarkable consistency in the clutch moments that define championship archery.
Compound Events
Men's Compound Individual
- 🥇 Gold: Michea Godano (Italy) — The 24-year-old reigning European field champion claimed his first major international indoor target title in one of the most dramatic individual finals of the week. Nicolas Girard (France) — the world number three and heavy favourite — tied Godano at 149 apiece to force a shoot-off, but the Italian held his nerve to win it. Godano had qualified third on 597, one point behind the tied leaders Girard and Israel's Shamai Yamrom (598 each). His composure under pressure in the shoot-off, with the entire Italian team watching from the sideline, marked him out as a new name to watch in European compound archery ahead of the outdoor season.
- 🥈 Silver: Nicolas Girard (France) — The world number three and IWS silver medallist was denied gold by the thinnest of margins despite a superb weekend. Girard topped qualification on 598 — the joint-best score of the event alongside Yamrom — but the shoot-off proved a step too far against Godano's nerves of steel.
Women's Compound Individual
- 🥇 Gold: Elisa Roner (Italy) — A dominant performance from the Italian compound women's stalwart, who had qualified second on 592 points behind Denmark's Sofie Louise Dam Marcussen (596). Roner navigated the elimination rounds with precision and composure, defeating Croatia's world number eight Amanda Mlinaric along the way to take the continental crown.
Under-21 Compound Events
- U-21 Men's Individual Gold: Christian Maranto (Italy) — Another Italian compound gold, claimed in similarly dramatic fashion as Godano's senior victory, with Maranto winning via a tie-break in the final to continue Italy's domination of the discipline at the championships.
- U-21 Compound Mixed Team Gold: Türkiye — One of the few events to escape Italy's grasp, with the Turkish under-21 compound mixed team claiming gold ahead of Italy's pair in second.
Barebow Events
Italy's excellence was perhaps most pronounced in the barebow disciplines, where they claimed gold in both the senior men's and women's individual events, the barebow mixed team (senior), and both the men's and women's team events. The only barebow title to elude them was in an area where San Marino's Kristina Maria Pruccoli and the legendary Italian barebow women's stalwart Cinzia Noziglia had been expected to battle for gold. Italy's comprehensive barebow sweep underlined a depth of talent in the discipline that no other European nation could match in 2026. With several top Italian barebow athletes looking ahead to the World Archery Field Championships and World Archery 3D Championships in Yankton, USA, later this year, Plovdiv provided perfect preparation ground.
Italy's Medal Dominance: The Numbers
- Total medals: 21 (11 gold, 4 silver, 6 bronze)
- Gold medals by event: Senior compound mixed team, barebow mixed team, compound women's team, barebow men's team, barebow women's team, Michea Godano (compound men's individual), Elisa Roner (compound women's individual), Christian Maranto (U-21 compound men's individual), and multiple barebow individual titles.
- Only setback: The recurve men's events, where Israel took both the individual team and mixed team recurve gold medals.
- National record broken: Italy's women's recurve team smashed an 18-year-old national record in the qualification round with 1,763 combined points.
Key Takeaways
- Italy's 11-gold, 21-medal haul at Plovdiv was one of the most dominant performances by a single nation at a major European archery championship in the modern era.
- The debut of mixed team events at European Indoor level was an immediate success, setting a strong precedent for the format ahead of its LA 2028 Olympic debut.
- Israel's recurve men's team and mixed team double gold was the biggest surprise of the week — a signal that Israeli recurve archery is developing genuine European-level strength.
- Michea Godano's shoot-off gold was one of the most nerve-shredding individual moments of the championships, defeating one of the world's best compound men in world number three Girard on the tightest possible margin.
- Italy's barebow teams are now firmly established as the strongest in Europe across all formats, and the Plovdiv titles put them in pole position ahead of the 2026 World Field and 3D Championships in Yankton later this year.
- Many of Europe's top barebow athletes are now shifting focus to outdoor field and 3D disciplines, and the Plovdiv results will shape national selection decisions for Yankton in the months ahead.