World title clinched with bull's eye
Dietmar Trillus
with By Bill Rea

Dietmar Trillus sports the gold medal he won at the 44th Outdoor Target World Championships in Leipzig, Germany.

Dietmar Trillus now has a world championship to add to his list of accomplishments.

The Nobleton area archery ace went down to his final arrow to clinch the compound men's title Sunday in the 44th Outdoor Target World Championships in Leipzig, Germany.

He was up against about 150 other men shooting compound bows (bows that are equipped with wheels that act as pulleys), but it all came down to the final four.

He faced Martin Damsbo of Denmark in the semifinals and scored 114 out of a possible 120 points with 12 arrows, to 113 for his opponent.

That pitted the 49-year-old Trillus against 21-year-old American Braden Gellenthien from Hudson, Mass., in the finals.

Both were tied at 29 out of a possible 30 points after they had each shot their first three arrows, and they were even at 57 after the second round of three. They were both perfect in the third round, upping their scores to 87. With one arrow remaining, Gellenthien had a slight lead, but he only scored nine on his final shot. Trillus hit the middle spot, restoring the tie and setting up a shoot-off.

Dietmar Trillus was on the range near his home a couple of days before leaving for Germany.

Gellenthien's extra shot was again a nine, leaving Trillus to wrap things up with a 10.

He said he didn't bother looking through his spotting scope.

"I didn't even look at the shot," he commented, adding the reaction of the spectators told him all he needed to know. "I knew that the last shot hit."

"Everything I guess happens for a reasons," he said Tuesday. "Braden's a phenomenal shot."

While Trillus may have had the advantage of experience, he didn't think age was much of a factor in the outcome.

The weather in Germany was not what people in this part of the world had over the weekend. Trillus said they were shooting in 100 F heat, adding they were surrounded by stands for some 3,000 spectators, which cut off any breeze. "You're shooting in a little bowl," he remarked.

"I had sweat pouring down me," he added.

Trillus returned home Monday afternoon, and by Tuesday (yesterday), he was still trying to get over the combination of the excitement, travel (being up 36 straight hours) and jet lag.

Trillus said he probably realized an experience like this could come his way.

"It's always a dream," he said. "Everyone would dream of accomplishing it."

"It's nice when dreams come true," he added. "I work very hard at what I do. I was told I deserve this."

An event like this is very big in Europe, and Trillus said the opening ceremonies were something like the Olympics, complete with a parade, flags, etc., "absolutely the whole nine yards."

He added there was a lot of media attention, commenting a strong impression he had was from the photographers shooting as he lined up his shots. "You hear all these cameras going off," he said.

"In Europe, it's absolutely huge," he declared. "I didn't realize it until I got there."

And he was popular with the crowd at the end.

"I had like 150 mob me for autographs," he said. "They almost took the clothes off my back. It was cool."

Trillus also acquired a nickname from the crowd. "I had a bunch of people screaming 'Go get 'em, Grandpa!'"

Trillus has only been involved in archery since late in 1999. He gets support from several sponsors, including Matthews Inc. He's also sponsored by Carbon Express, Copper John, Tru Ball and Lancaster Archery, among others.