Archery Star Mike Schloesser Shares Memories of Historic Perfect Score

Compound archery legend Mike Schloesser recently helped the Mighty Marathas win the archery Premier League final by shooting a score of 80 out of 80 against the Kakatiya Knights.

The Record

Schloesser first achieved a historic 600 out of 600 score back in 2015 when he was just 21 years old, hitting the 10-ring across 60 arrows. He recalls that the record-breaking session started early at 7:30 am while he was still sleepy, and a friend had to step in to shoo away media persons so he could keep his focus. He has since repeated the 600 out of 600 feat three more times officially, with two instances in Taiwan and one in Macau.

Background

He started archery at the age of four, guided by his parents who were both archers. Although he initially spent his first four to five years shooting with a Recurve bow, he eventually switched to the Compound bow because it suited him better. Outside of his sport, Schloesser is married to fellow archer Gabriela Bayardo and is a young father, noting that welcoming a child into the world brought a new sense of perspective to his life.

Context

Compound archery is one of the main disciplines in international target archery competition, distinct from the Olympic Recurve bow format due to its use of mechanical cables and pulleys. Achieving a maximum score requires extreme consistency and physical control under varying weather conditions like strong winds.