On a day in which the sweltering temperatures on the shores of Lake Geneva were matched only by the phenomenally high standard of shooting, the 20-year-old from Pello in Iowa shot a perfect 10 with each of his first 11 attempts in the 15-arrow final.

When his mark finally wavered onto a still impressive nine with his 12th effort, a groan reverberated around the arena, of surprise as much as disappointment.

He finished with a score of 148 to win by four points from French world number one Pierre Julien "PJ" Deloche, who nonetheless received the loudest cheers of the day, mostly from a passionate Gallic contingent who had made the short journey across the lake. 

Deaton's US compatriot Reo Wilde, the five-time World Cup finalist who lost to his team mate at the semi-final stage, secured bronze after getting the better of Peter Elzinga of The Netherlands.

Earlier in the afternoon in Lausanne, Deaton, who performed far better on his World Cup Final debut than his world ranking of eight would suggest he was capable of, won a first gold in the mixed team event when shooting alongside Erika Jones.

Bridger Deaton won his first gold alongside US team mate Erika Jones in the mixed team event ©World Archery



After being surprisingly selected ahead of Wilde, in a selection gamble subsequently shown to be an inspired one, the US duo defeated Clementine De Guila and Patrizio Hofer of Switzerland 158-151 in the 16-arrow match.

The vastly less experienced home pair were always likely to struggle but still gave a very strong account of themselves, with the Americans requiring every bit of their world class prowess to come out on top.

A US clean sweep of the day's events was avoided only when Jones was narrowly beaten in the women's final by another rising star of the sport, Colombia's Lopez, in a see-saw battle in which the 19-year-old eventually won by 147 points to 145.

Natalia Avdeeva of Russia secured bronze on her birthday after edging Toja Cerne of Slovenia by an even narrower one point margin.

Both individual winners were presented with a cheque for CHF20,000 (£13,000/$21,000/ €16,500) as well as a Longines watch and a special trophy.

With 16-year old Brazilian star Marcus Dalmeida set to star in tomorrow's men's recurve competition, South America is clearly a rising power in the sport.

Sara Lopez held her nerve to secure the women's title, the second year in a row in which a Colombian has won gold after Alejandra Usquiano did so last year in Paris ©World Archery



Unlike Dalmeida, however, Lopez will not have an opportunity to showcase her talents on the biggest stage, at Rio 2016 in 23 months time, as compound competitions are not currently part of the Olympic programme, featuring instead at the World Games.

Making use of a cable and pulley system which deems holding weight at full draw much less than the initial force needed to draw the bow, compound archers are even more accurate than those in the recurve class, with telescopic sights and mechanical release aids also helping.

This means the standard of shooting is even more phenomenal and, at this level in a 15-arrow contest, anything less than a perfect 10 is simply not good enough, as Deaton illustrated to devastating effect.

One stray shot can cost a match, and when Colombia's defending World Cup Final champion Alejandra Usquiano's arrow failed to release in each of the first two shots of her quarter-final due to a mechanical problem, it was simply impossible for her to come back.

But despite the constant repetition of perfect shots, the afternoon was a strong showing for the disciplines, and more generally for a sport that seems to have found a perfect balance between modern and traditional aspects.

While the basic premise of archery remains unchanged, the introduction of music, announcers and the mixed team competition was a nod to the reform drive seen throughout the sports world in recent years, while Archie the Mascot proved another popular addition.

With the city-centre location as well as a number of stalls, not to mention the perfect weather, adding further interest, South African International Olympic Committee member Sam Ramsamy and Gilbert Felli, who stood down after 11 years as Olympic Games executive director earlier this week, were among leading Olympic officials to join World Archery President Uğur Erdener in the audience.

More sun, dignitaries, and top-level archery can be expected tomorrow with the Olympic recurve competitions, as the World Cup season comes to a head for another year.

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