Garate placed third place during the qualifying round and then rose to first place in the subsequent two knockout stages. After making what he referred to as a "concentration mistake" during the semifinals, it was difficult to close the gap to gold. However, during the final round, Garate shot superbly, beating Gold medalist Enzo Lazzaroni (Italy) by 37-29 in 4 arrows, leaving him only 2 points out of the gold medal placement. His tool of choice - a Blacktail Elite VL.
 
Reflecting on the tournament experience, Garate was very satisfied with the overall 'mental' aspect of his performance.  'Mental focus', was one of his primary goals this year and he worked as much on the mental factor as his shooting technique. In this type of championship competition, there is added pressure with each arrow drawn/shot.  This mental pressure is very present, particularly due to the sense of responsibility to represent his country well in international competition. His ability to control his mind during the moments of competition, is an ongoing challenge, but makes all the difference!.

VIDEO:
To view the Men's Instinctive 3D Division Award ceremony video, click on the 'SEE VIDEO' button and fast-forward to the section from time mark: (22:26 through 26:39)

Blacktail Bows is pleased to welcome Spanish National Champion, Juan Gomez Garate as a member of the Blacktail PRO STAFF.  ​Juan was born in Laredo (Cantabria – Spain) in April 14, 1971. He is married to lovely wife “Makale”, who he quickly acknowledges as his main support, travel coordinator and organizer for his archery competitions.  Juan says "she puts common sense into the madness of competitions".
 
Juan is a man of many hobbies including handicrafts (especially leather goods and cutlery). He loves to work with his hands and considers himself a "perfectionist" in everything he does. Juan enjoys the outdoors especially trekking in the beautiful mountains of northern Spain. Before he became active in competitive archery, Juan was a hunter for 20 years.
 
Juan trains with great effort to prepare for every competition.
 
He started practicing Traditional Archery in January 2010, using a traditional bow and shooting instinctively (no sights). Choosing to participate in 3D Target tournaments, by the end of 2010, he was starting to experience success in competitions. Since that year, Juan's performance in competitions has steadily progressed, consistently achieving  better results.
 
Initially (and still to this day), his main interest in archery was simply the pure enjoyment of the sport. Later, within a short time, his goals centered around achieving good results in competitions — specifically Spanish Championship Tournaments (both 3D and Field).  These goals were certainly achieved (see below).

Now, each year, Juan's goal is to be selected as a member of  the Spanish National Team, a great honor and culmination of his efforts during each archery season.  If selected again this year, Juan would like to win a medal for his country in the next 3D European Championship in Slovenia (Mokrice - Catez, 30 August – 3 September 2016). Finally, in the future, Juan aspires to be the 3D World Champion, as it is the highest aspiration of a traditional archer. 

Juan, or "Juanucu" (as he is called by his friends) competes with his arsenal of Blacktail Elite VL series bows.

​Blacktail congratulates Juanucu on his outstanding achievements to date and we wish him continued success well into the future! We are honored to be affiliated with such an elite archer and competitor —representing TEAM BLACKTAIL on the national, European and world stage. :)

This hand-carved and hand engraved Legacy series bow features a "Hunting dog flushing a pheasant" - with grapevine carving details and intricate silver inlay.   This investment-grade, heirloom bow is a one-of-a-kind example 

We invite you to check out the 5-page feature article about Blacktail Bows in the August/September 2015 issue of Traditional Bowhunter magazine - on newsstands now.