The Pursuit of Perfection: Brady Ellison’s Journey To Health

Brady Ellison took his 11th recurve male title in Vegas in 2025, without needing a shootdown. He took the win outright with a score of 893, four points ahead of Brazil's Marcus D'Almeida (also back in 2026).  As he arrived in Las Vegas for the 2026 event with his family, the 11-time champion sat down to discuss the mental grind of the competition, his historic 900, and his ongoing journey toward peak health.

"Everyone talks about Vegas. Archery as a whole talks about Vegas and winning Vegas being the big one. I think in a lot of ways sometimes it outshines the Olympics – until the Olympics happen and then it's all about the Games.

"I want to feel healthy. I want to look good," he said. "We almost work on my health as much as I shoot my bow."

With thousands of shooters and the largest payouts in the sport, Vegas is widely considered "the big one." However, the pressure here isn't just about the crowd or the money. Unlike the ranking rounds in World Archery, Vegas offers no room for a slow start.

"You only have 30 arrows a day," Ellison explained. "You can’t get behind. You can’t shoot a 295 because you’re nervous, calm down, and then rock a 300 on the back half to be right where you need to be. You have to be on for those 30 arrows, and you have to do it three days in a row. But I'm allowed to miss here. I could still go win Vegas with say like 894, 895."

The 'Impossible' 900

While a perfect 300 is a standard goal for compound shooters, doing it with a recurve is a rare feat. Doing it three days straight and completing a perfect 900 is legendary. To this day, Ellison considers his recurve 900 in 2020 the single most impressive achievement of his career.

He recalled the final day of that historic run as a brutal internal monologue: "The first day, the 300 wasn't too bad. After the first couple ends, you got it. The second day was really easy. The third day, those 30 arrows sucked more than I have ever shot 30 arrows in my career." "It was the battle inside my head... One side saying, 'You have the tournament won, just miss one and take the pressure off,' and the other guy saying, 'You’re not going to drop one. Quit being a little xxxxx and just go get it done. It was just a constant battle. '"

Of course the pressure didn't come from the competition: Ellison had a comfortable six or seven-point lead. The pressure came from the ledge of the unknown. "It’s very hard mentally to go be the first to do anything," he said. "You’re literally on the cliff edge going, 'I’m going to jump and I’m going to be the first person to fly.'" "I had never shot a 900 in practice and and so it was just kind of all this 'it's gonna be your first time, you could do it'. And a lot of people don't realize like it's very hard nerve-wise and mentally to go be the first to do anything."

New targets and bales

Looking toward the 2026 event, Ellison is a vocal supporter of the move to new Reinhardt targets in the championship division, as well as the new, smaller shoot-off rings (1.5 cm and 1 cm X). He believes these changes shift the focus back to pure accuracy rather than luck or "sagging" arrows.

"This makes it accuracy-based. This is not luck," Ellison noted. "People are going to bring the most accurate setup they have... there’s no judge call on if that’s actually touching the line. You hit the middle, and you win."

A Different Kind of Battle

Beyond the target mat, Ellison has been fighting a personal battle with Hashimoto’s disease and other health issues. Having lost 60 pounds over the last two years, he looks leaner and more focused than ever. Alongside his wife Toja, Ellison has opted for a holistic approach to health, involving resetting the vagus nerve, reducing inflammation and biometric feedback machines.

"We've just been doing different things, switching up foods – I'm trying to get the body not to react to whatever random things that my body wants to react to." The goal is long-term healing rather than temporary fixes. "I want to feel healthy. I want to look good," he said. "We almost work on my health as much as I shoot my bow."

As Ellison steps onto the line this weekend seeking his 12th Vegas title, he isn't just shooting against the best in the world – he's continuing a lifelong pursuit of perfection, in his sport and his well-being.