Turkish Olympic, world and European champion archer Mete Gazoz believes his successful 2026 season has laid the foundation for an even stronger campaign in 2027, when qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics begins.
Gazoz, who is currently at a training camp in Antalya with the Turkish national archery team, said his performances throughout the year had strengthened his confidence ahead of the next Olympic cycle.
The Red Bull athlete finished the international season with seven medals in World Cup competition, while also enjoying strong results at the European Championships and Mediterranean Games.
“2026 was a fantastic year for Turkish archery,” Gazoz said. “The World Cup, European Championships and Mediterranean Games were all very successful for me. My teammates also achieved important results. It was a year that gave us a lot of hope for 2027 and showed our rivals what Turkish archery is capable of.”
Gazoz said his progress since the Paris Olympics had followed the trajectory he wanted, with each season building on the previous one.
“Every year, I am getting better than the year before,” he said. “2027 will be better than this year because the quotas for the 2028 Olympics will start. There will be a World Championships next year, and I want to earn my Olympic quota as world champion.”
Gazoz also has ambitions for the Turkish men’s team, which he hopes can secure an Olympic quota by winning the world title.
“We want to finish the job we left unfinished as a men’s team and earn the quota as world champions,” he said.
Los Angeles remains the biggest target of his career. Gazoz won an individual Olympic medal at the Tokyo Games and helped Türkiye secure a team medal in Paris, leaving him determined to achieve both feats at the 2028 Olympics.
“I am very ready for the Olympics,” Gazoz said. “The 2028 Olympics will be better than Tokyo and Paris. I won an individual medal in Tokyo. We won a team medal in Paris. In Los Angeles, I want to win both.”
Gazoz also reflected on one of the most talked-about moments of his 2026 World Cup campaign, when he deliberately shot a six on his final arrow during the fourth stage in Spain after calculating that the score was enough to secure the gold medal.
He said strong winds had initially caused the low score, but he chose to embrace the moment rather than show any concern to his rivals.
“My six points were talked about a lot,” Gazoz said. “It was actually a bit unlucky because there was a serious wind in the final series. The wind caused the six. After that, my attitude became as if I had deliberately shot it because my opponents were watching the competition and following my reactions.”
Gazoz said the incident ultimately sent a message to his competitors.
“It was like a message to them: ‘Whatever score I need, I will shoot it,’” he said. “And that is really how it is.”
The 26-year-old also welcomed the growing profile of archery in Türkiye and said sponsorship deals involving major global brands could help accelerate the sport's development.
Gazoz said Red Bull's decision to sponsor an archer had attracted attention not only in Türkiye but internationally, adding that such partnerships could help establish archery as a more prominent sport around the world.
