Nicolas Girard took bronze at the 2020 Indoor Archery World Series Finals in Las Vegas That third place signalled an emergence on the world stage and it was his first podium position outside of Europe His previous major result had come just two weeks earlier when he won a silver medal at the (fairly local to Nicolas) Sud de France – Nimes Archery Tournament that January It would be an understatement to say that a lot has happened and changed in the world since February 2020 it was almost déjà vu when in-person competition restarted fully this year Girard medalled at both Nimes and Vegas again He took silver in France and gold in the US After beating Estonia’s Robin Jaatma in the quarterfinals of a second consecutive event (with a perfect 150 both times, too), the 21-year-old Frenchman arrived in the Vegas final a favourite over Spain’s Alberto Blazquez. He lived up to the billing a town just 50 kilometres southeast of Nimes it is no surprise Girard feels at home shooting there – but Vegas is a different story It’s the other side of a large pond and the matches are played in a one-off finals arena large and imposing and full of foreign crowd “Shooting in that Las Vegas finals arena was a dream I had for a very long time and it came true,” said Girard to World Archery shortly after arriving home in southern France “[The atmosphere] was very impressive but as I had the chance to shoot in the Nimes arena in my final against Jean-Philippe Boulch a few weeks earlier Girard made his first appearance in Vegas in 2019 at the age of 18 “Ever since then it was my desire to shoot in the finals arena,” he said. “It became an obsession to win this title and I would like to thank my two coaches, Max [Parpillon, club coach] and Sebastien [Brasseur French coach] as well as all my friends and family.” “I trained a lot more with more regularity My shooting technique also improved and I have gained muscular endurance which allowed me to be less tired in the final match a match which required a lot of energy from me.” You have to go back to 2010 to find when Girard first picked up a bow It was a day he not only discovered a new sport but a piece of family history too – and one which spanned multiple generations “I shot my first arrows during a sports day in Saint-Martin-de-Crau It’s a day when the town’s sports associations come together to promote their sports,” explained Girard who used to spend more of his time up a mountain with a snowboard “That same day I learned that my grandfather and my father had practised archery previously and since that day I never stopped shooting arrows.” Nicolas’ father, Christopher, and grandfather, Robert, shot in the village of Entressen, home to just under 5000 inhabitants, at a club affiliated to ‘L'Union Française des Œuvres Laïques d'Éducation Physique’ a union which uses sport as a tool for education too – starting in 2010 and 2021 respectively – with Nicolas at the club at which he continues to train in his hometown ‘Les Archers Saint Martinois’ Despite an almost pre-ordained route to a bow Nicolas takes great pleasure in the sport he discovered the speed the arrow has when it comes out of the bow and the unique feeling when the arrow hits the centre of the target,” said ‘Nico’ what I like the most is this spirit of sharing that there is in this sport.” Less than two weeks after podiuming in Vegas, Girard is back in action in Slovenia, competing in the European Indoor Archery Championships, where he’s in with a shot at yet another major medal – this time in a French, rather than his pro-team, shirt. “It is a great source of pride to represent my country,” said Nico. “And I hope to be able to continue it for a long time.” I go out several times a month to see it pass across the sky so the ISS was about 5 arcminutes away when this image was taken the Moon is about 30 arcminutes across in the sky But only apparently: the station was a few hundred miles from the photographer Some close encounters aren't as close as you might think Tip o' the chapeau to Larry Klaes, and to Spaceweather Register or Log In Want more?Keep reading for as low as $1.99 Subscribe Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience has signed a new service and maintenance contract with SAMFI 5 SARL This full-scope agreement will cover two Enercon E-70 wind turbines located in Plouisy The contract includes comprehensive operations and maintenance services including major component repairs and replacements with Full Circle’s local team in Brittany responsible for managing the site Already servicing several EWT and NegMicon turbines in the Brittany region Full Circle is now enhancing its multi-brand fleet with this new Enercon turbines contract This milestone underscores the company’s continued multi-brand expansion and strengthened foothold in the area It also represents the company’s second contract with IWB for nine Enercon E48 turbines in Saint Martin de Crau “We are thrilled to extend our partnership with IWB through this new agreement with SAMFI 5 SARL it’s yet another testament to Full Circle’s expertise in multi-brand O&M services combined with our extensive experience in France positions us strongly to ensure the optimal performance of these turbines,” said Frédéric Leroy “IWB is committed to a long-term strategy of operating our wind power plants with maximum sustainability and efficiency We are pleased to partner with Full Circle for the second time whose manufacturer-independent expertise aligns perfectly with our needs We look forward to a successful collaboration that will enhance the performance and longevity of our turbines in Plouisy,” added Clea Hamm Dive into the latest renewable energy insights in the Autumn issue of Energy Global The issue starts with an insightful guest comment from Cristiano Spillati Managing Director at Limes Renewable Energy where he discusses the need for European renewable energy suppliers to accelerate the rate of the energy transition This is followed by a regional report from Cornwall Insights on the battery energy storage industry in Australia This issue explores key topics including offshore wind subsea cables Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/wind/26092024/full-circle-signs-contract-to-service-enercon-e-70-turbines-in-france/ Lantana Capital Ltd has been appointed as the mandated sell-side advisor for the public auction of Heliosphera SA's bankrupt solar panel factory in Tripoli Embed article link: (copy the HTML code below): Already a member? Sign in here In my matches I didn‘t even pay attention to the scores I stayed focused ad shot the arrows in the 10,” he said It is not easy when there are all these people around Girard is not a household name But he did make the shootdown in Vegas last year with a perfect 900 He qualified third in Nimes with 597 out of a possible 600 points for the 60-arrow 18-metre ranking round. In matchplay, he defeated experienced archers Reo Wilde and Stephan Hansen to set up the final with Braden Gellenthien was ranked fourth for the brackets on the same qualifying score as Girard Top seed Mike Schloesser, who had 599, lost his second-round match to Steve Anderson in a double shoot-off Paige Pearce (596), Brady Ellison (595) and Kim Surin (591) were the other number one qualifiers. Only Ellison will contest a gold medal at this tournament. The world number one will face US teammate Jack Williams in the recurve men’s final Olympic Champion Chang Hye Jin and reigning Indoor Archery World Series Champion Sim Yeji made the recurve women’s gold medal match Lisell Jaatma and Tanja Jensen will contest the compound women’s title The cut scores to make the matchplay phase decreased across the board this year in Nimes compound men’s 589 (-1) and compound women’s 573 (-2) a tournament-best seven compound women shot 590 points or more The Sud de France Nimes Archery Tournament is the fifth event of the 2020 Indoor Archery World Series Winners of the event will receive 1000 points towards the circuit’s elite ranking Junior finals from Nimes will be streamed live in the morning on Sunday 19 January The senior medal matches will follow from 13h30 CET (local) Watch on World Archery’s YouTube channel. The fifth event of the 2020 Indoor Archery World Series is the Sud de France Nimes Archery Tournament on Friday 17 to Sunday 19 January 2020. 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It is the second year in a row that Gellenthien has won the compound men’s event in France “This is actually my fourth overall championship in Nimes and the pressure never gets less,” he said “This is probably one of the most intense finals I’ve had shooting against a French favourite so I’m really happy to come out on top.” World number one Gellenthien, the number four seed in Nimes, beat third-ranked Nicolas Girard He made the shootdown at the Vegas Shoot in 2019 and this silver is his first major medal A second world number one from the USA took gold Brady Ellison defeated Jack Williams in a five-set recurve men’s final He needed a sympathetic call on a line-cutter to take the match – 6-4 – and got it He could be heard on the live broadcast congratulating his teammate Reigning Indoor Archery World Series Champion Sim Yeji demolished Chang Hye Jin​ in the recurve women’s gold medal match The Olympic Champion never found her feet and lost in straight sets “I was just concentrating on my own shooting,” said Sim “I was the winner last year at the Finals and when I get back to Korea I’m going to train hard to win it again.” The compound women’s title went to 20-year-old Estonian archer Lisell Jaatma She had battled up from the number 10 seed with wins over world record holder Sarah Prieels and world number one Alexis Ruiz to make a final against Tanja Jensen Jaatma was three points up after nine arrows I haven’t shot with this big crowd [before],” she said I was super nervous but everything went good so I was super proud.” Cedric Rieger, Kim Chaeyun, Martin Damsbo and Alexis Ruiz completed the podiums All four winners take top spots in the Indoor Archery World Series elite rankings The top 16 athletes in each list are invited to compete in the Indoor Archery World Series Finals on Saturday 8 February The last stage of the Indoor Archery World Series consists of the first two days of the Vegas Shoot Finals are also held for the youth categories at the Sud de France Nimes Archery Tournament. This year, the junior titles went to Clement Jacquey, Mathilde Louis, Tyler Heritage and Layla Annison. Replay the medal match sessions on the World Archery YouTube channel. Highlights will be published later this week. The fifth event of the 2020 Indoor Archery World Series was the Sud de France Nimes Archery Tournament on Friday 17 to Sunday 19 January 2020.