First-time champions take to the podium for the last day of National Tour: The Final 2024.
Up first in the morning was the barebow women's competition. The gold final saw a repeat of 2023, with Sarah Hubbard and Pat Hotchkiss going head-to-head. So far this season, Sarah has won every stage of the National Tour, but Pat stopped this winning streak in its tracks by shooting straight sets 6-0, upgrading her medal from last year from silver to gold. Third place went to Final debutant, Anastasia Wilson, who defeated fourth ranked Vic Williams 7-3.
Pat told us: "I'm shocked. I didn't expect to beat Sarah, I thought I was going to get second, but I've been practicing quite a lot."
Pat Hotchkiss shooting in front of Wollaton Hall. Credit: Malcolm Rees
Next up was the recurve head-to-heads, starting with the men. 2023's silver medallist, Conor Hall, fought his way back to the gold final this year where he faced fellow Olympian, Alex Wise. The match went all the way to 4-all, and in the final end, it was Conor who took the advantage, shooting a 28 to win the final set points. Not only did Conor come out victorious, but he also did so on his birthday! The bronze went to Patrick Huston, who defeated Antony Wood in clean sets 6-0 to take the win.
Conor said: "It feels great. A nice birthday present, thank you! Prep for this hasn't really been as much as previous years because of the Olympics. This year the goal was to get to the Olympics, and afterwards, this is just like the cherry on top."
Conor Hall celebrates his birthday in style. Credit: Malcolm Rees
Wrapping up the weekend was the recurve women's competition. Olympic debutante Megan Havers faced two-time Olympian Bryony Pitman in the gold final. Megan went into the last three arrows 5-1 up, meaning a tie was all she needed for the victory. That was exactly what she did, shooting 27 to Bryony's 27, winning gold. Third place went to third-ranked Louisa Piper, who pipped Thea Rogers 6-4 to take the last spot on the podium.
Megan commented: "I think I'm more nervous today than I actually was at the Olympics, but we survived, it's all right! There are some important competitions that I want to go to next year, junior and senior-wise, so I'll definitely be training towards that."
Find links to the scores and photos from the whole weekend below.
Results Photos
If you missed the action, rewatch our livestreams from the whole weekend.
Barebow men and compound women
Compound men
Barebow women and recurve men
Recurve women
