Posted on March 29, 2007
As a JMU junior archer, Braden Gellenthien may not have sports jerseys on sale at the bookstore, a massive fan following or any fancy nicknames, but what he does have is unlike any other athlete at JMU.
And that is 32 world records.
“When I think about it, it impresses myself,” Gellenthien said. “But it’s really just icing on the cake. It’s always something in the back of your mind, but it’s not something you keep as a goal. It’s a by-product of winning tournaments.”
The Hudson, Mass., native added his most recent world record when he competed in the Indoor World Championships at the International Izmir Fair Center in Turkey, which concluded Saturday, March 17. While there, he joined two other Americans, Dave Cousins and Reo Wilde.
“We’ve been on teams together in the past,” Gellenthien said. “One of the guys from Maine [Cousins] I’m good friends with … we shot a lot of local stuff growing up. He was my idol when I was younger and now that I’m actually shooting alongside him, it’s great.”
In the team competition, Gellenthien didn’t miss a single shot, as the U.S. men’s compound team combined for a world-record 239 (out of 240) — just one dime-sized bull’s-eye away from a perfect team score. The previous record was 238.
But Gellenthien wasn’t finished there, as he also took home the individual gold medal, defeating Jose Duo of Spain 116-114 in his largest point victory in the five rounds of competition.
Gellenthien got out of the first round on a tiebreaker, after tying Emre Ozdemir of Turkey 116-116. In the round of 16, once again, he advanced on a tiebreaker after tying Anders Malm of Sweden 116-116. Then, Gellenthien edged out his fellow U.S. teammate 119-118 and followed that with a tight 118-117 semifinal win over Dominique Genet of France.
“The level of competition is really huge,” Gellenthien said of the world event. “Pretty much everyone there has a chance. Going into it you never really think that you’re not going to win. You have to have that much confidence to compete at the world championships. Just to come out with a win is really big.”
According to Gellenthien, the U.S. compound team is usually favored to win. But what makes the Americans so dominant?
“I really don’t know,” Gellenthien said. “Overseas, people receive pensions from their governments. When they shoot, that’s what they do for a living. Here, we all have jobs and we shoot alongside it. I guess we train the hardest and want it the most and that’s enough.”
After Gellenthien first picked up a bow at a Cub Scouts camp at age 10, and sought out a personal coach in Terry Wunderle four or five years later, he began to qualify for international events. Wunderle still advises Gellenthien through phone calls and videos, to discuss technical form and various tournaments, which have spanned the globe.
“I’ve been to Czech Republic, France and Great Britain for three different junior tournaments,” Gellenthien said. “For senior tournaments, I’ve been to New York City, Spain and now [Turkey]. Last summer, I went to Slovakia for the Collegiate World Championships, and the year before that I went to Turkey again for the World University Games.”
Even with all his personal success, Gellenthien was quick to cite the overall success of JMU’s archery program, which has been coached by Bob Ryder for the last decade.
“JMU has won at least one gold medal every tournament I’ve been to since I’ve come to this school,” Gellenthien said.
Unfortunately, the Title-IX cuts at JMU included archery. And though the decision will hurt the team’s funding significantly for trips, Gellenthien said he doesn’t think the level of competition will decrease as the team is downgraded to a club sport.
Before the Title-IX cuts take effect, however, the JMU archery team will compete in the Arizona Cup in mid-April, along with the regional and intercollegiate championships.
Additionally, Gellenthien plans to participate in his first-ever World Cup in Italy this year during finals week.
“I qualified for it last year, but I couldn’t go with COB 300,” Gellenthien said.
Upon graduating, Gellenthien said he plans on testing the professional circuit for a year. If that doesn’t pay the bills, he plans on getting a job in sports marketing that will still allow him to travel and compete.
