Gabriela Schloesser

Lore & Background

Schloesser began her international career representing Mexico, competing at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where she reached the second round before being eliminated by Lisa Unruh of Germany. After a mandatory 12-month break for switching national representation, she debuted as a Dutch archer at the third stage of the Archery World Cup in June 2018. In June 2019, partnered with Sjef van den Berg, she won a silver medal in the mixed recurve event at the Archery World Championships in 's-Hertogenbosch, losing to the South Korean duo of Lee Woo-seok and Kang Chae-young in the final. Later that month at the 2019 European Games in Minsk, Belarus, she secured a qualification place for the 2020 Summer Olympics after reaching the semi-finals, becoming the first female Dutch archer to achieve an Olympic spot since 1996. She lost to Tatiana Andreoli of Italy in the semi-final but claimed bronze by defeating Russia's Anna Balsukova in the third-place match.

Reader's Guide

Schloesser's career marks a significant transition between national teams, demonstrating the feasibility of switching representation under World Archery rules. Her Olympic silver medal in the mixed team event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, alongside Steve Wijler, represents a high point for Dutch archery, which had not seen a female Olympic qualifier since 1996. Her bronze medal at the 2019 European Games further solidified her role in reviving Dutch women's recurve archery on the international stage. Additionally, her gold medal in the recurve mixed team event at the 2021 Archery World Cup, paired again with Sjef van den Berg, and her gold in the same event at the 2022 European Archery Championships with Rick van der Ven, underscore her consistent performance in mixed team formats. Her participation in the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, United States, extended her competitive reach beyond Olympic and World Cup circuits.

Did You Know?

• She became the first female Dutch archer to qualify for the Olympics since 1996.
• She won gold in the mixed team recurve event at the 2022 European Archery Championships with Rick van der Ven.
• She represented Mexico at the 2016 Summer Olympics before switching to the Netherlands.