Savannah O’Donohue battled the wind in Winnipeg to take home three gold medals
Since Louisiana Sportsman last reported on Savannah O’Donohue in September 2022, things have changed.
O’Donohue, now 16, passed all her tests to get a driver’s license and, like many high school juniors, drives her teal Kia Seltos to and from classes at Benton High School. She’s also making the grades with hopes of studying graphic design and marketing in college.
And, oh, just before returning to school, the rising world class archer from Louisiana flew to Canada with her parents and came back with a gold medal in mixed team, a gold medal in team and a gold medal in individual while representing Team USA in the Winnipeg 2025 World Archery Youth Championships held Aug. 17-24.
O’Donohue credits the treasured and golden moments to a practice routine in her coach’s 3-acre backyard twice daily, six days a week, May through early August. The key was that she practiced a lot in windy conditions, the bane of so many competitive archers.
Those practices in the wind benefitted her in Winnipeg, where high winds challenged every archer from 63 countries. She was the only competitor in the 540-strong field to stay unbeaten in all competitions.
The right mindset
In other words, O’Donohue, an undisputed national champion and international silver medalist as an eighth-grader, was prepared for the windy world stage when it was time to shoot in the Women’s Individual Compound Under-18 championship match against India’s Prithika Pradeep. The American outshot Pradeep, 143-140, to win the title.
“I would say it was my mental game,” Savannah O’Donohue said in an interview the week she returned from Canada. “I focused hard on thinking right and getting the mindset, ‘I’m ready to compete.’ I worked really hard on my mental process and how I shoot, the way I operate. I also worked on shooting in the wind trying to make sure to identify how hard the wind was blowing and how it would affect my arrow.”
Scott and April O’Donohue’s daughter made them oh-so proud.
“Savannah has really exceeded her expectations for this World Youth Championship,” April O’Donohue said. “Scott and I knew she was ready physically, but to see her confidence and mental game lead her to this victory is beyond our wildest dreams! We are so unbelievably proud of her. Dreams do come true when you believe in yourself and trust your process.”
Her daughter rode the fast track to Winnipeg by finishing first in a 14-archer women’s under-18 field during qualifying trials at an April 23 tournament in Newberry, Fla. That clutch shooting earned a berth on Team USA.
“As soon as I made the team back in April, I really worked hard since then to prepare and be confident in myself. We shot once in the morning and once in the afternoon, about 100 arrows each time in my coach’s backyard,” Savannah O’Donohue said about Kathleen Hemphill, who along with her husband, Chip, coach archers as owners of Hoot & Holler Training Academy JOAD Club in Bossier City.
A gold sweep
It paid off in Winnipeg. O’Donohue first paired with Caleb Quiocho of Yuba City, Calif., to win the mixed team under-18 title by defeating Germany in the quarterfinals, 149-146; Mexico in the semifinals, 144-138, and India in the gold medal match, 150-149.
Then O’Donohue claimed gold again with Team USA’s Khloe Markle and Julia Cook to win the women’s team under-18 title with wins against Poland, 228-188; Mexico, 225-225, and Chinese Taipei, 227-224.
The Benton High School student-athlete competed for individual world honors the next day, a Saturday. To get to the finals she defeated Eve Whitear in the second round, 143-138; Lia Carolina Lugo Romero in the third round, 143-140; Robles Retano Melissa in the quarterfinals, and Fenna Stallen in the semifinals, 145-136, to set up the championship match against Pradeep.
“I really think I shot well,” she said. “I prepared very well for this tournament. It felt really nice to bring back the gold in all three.”
Did her nerves jangle?
“There were some times … first arrow, first rounds, some nerves were there. Once I got on the line the nerves just kind of faded away,” she said. “You can really tell if you’ve prepared for a tournament if you’re not nervous because you’re confident in your ability.”
She was in the driver’s seat, like she is now going to and from Benton High School, where she competes on the archery team.
