European Games 2023: Florian Unruh wins men’s recurve archery gold as Germany and Moldova secure Paris 2024 quotas

Florian Unruh delivered a spectacular gold in the men’s recurve archery competition at the European Games, having already secured a quota for his National Olympic Committee for Paris 2024.

The German's 6-2 victory over Miguel Alvariño Garcia in the final was a deserved reward for an excellent display in a tournament where precious Olympic quotas were on the line.

With Spain already receiving individual quotas following their victory in the Mixed Team event, Unruh and Dan Olaru of Republic of Moldova only needed to reach the semi-final, where they faced off against two Spanish opponents, to earn one of the two quotas available in the competition.

It meant some of the pressure for Unruh was lifted from his shoulders as he competed in the gold-medal match in Poland.

And he showed nerves of steel to secure a dominant victory against pre-tournament favourite Alvariño Garcia in the final.

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Paris 2024 berths secured for Germany and Republic of Moldova

While the silver medal went to the losing finalist and bronze to Pablo Acha of Spain, the other big winner of the day was Republic of Moldova’s Dan Olaru whose journey to the semi-final saw him earn a spot at next year’s Olympic Games for his NOC.

His run in Poland included victories over Austria’s Andreas Gstoettner, Spain’s Andres Temiño and Netherlands’ Senna Roos, before a quarter-final win over France’s Baptiste Addis secured his place in the all-important semis.

For his part, Unruh adds another medal to his collection, following his silver medals in the mixed team and individual events at the 2022 European Archery Championships in Munich.

Should he be chosen by his NOC, he would also have the chance to compete in a second Olympic Games after coming fifth in the men’s individual event and ninth in the mixed team event at Tokyo 2020.