The founding member of the Rosebank Archery Club was part of the three-member New Zealand women's compound team that won a world cup event in Turkey recently.
The New Zealanders out-shot some of world archery's top teams, including Venezuela, Germany and Greece, to win the third world cup leg of a four-event series, which is to be decided in Copenhagen .
The team, which included Linda Lainchbury (Auckland) and Mandy McGregor (New Plymouth), had not competed in the first two world cup legs, in the Dominican Republic and Croatia, and will not make the final in Copenhagen, but that could not wipe the smile off Mitchell's face.
She returned to Balclutha late on Wednesday, still on a high after being part of a rare world cup victory.
Compound archery involves using bows with pulleys and electronic magnification sights, so shooters can close in on their targets 70m away.
The team was the first to compete in a world cup event any further away than Australia, and the long flights and effort were worth it, Mitchell said.
Twenty teams competed in the Turkey leg, which was staged in the Mediterranean coast town of Anatlya.
A ranking round established the top teams for the final competitions and New Zealand was ranked ninth.
During the finals, it notched up wins against the fancied German side, the top-ranked Venezuelan combination and Italy.
That catapulted the Kiwis into the final against Greece, which had been ranked 11th in the earlier competition.
The New Zealanders won the final 211-204, which Mitchell said was the most enjoyable shoot of the entire event.
It was staged on the main beach and provided what she said was a calming influence.
"I was actually really relaxed. There were television cameras everywhere, and stuff like that, but I felt calm as," she said.
The team won a "large cup" which will be shared by three team members over the next year.
Its first stop is at the McGregor household in New Plymouth, and Mitchell is looking forward to it being delivered south later this year.
But her focus is already shifting to the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, in October 2010.
The New Zealand team is ranked fifth in the Commonwealth and she is concentrating on training and keeping sharp for team selection and, hopefully, a tilt at more glory.
