ARCHERY: After settling into the Olympic Village the Australian archery team have had their first training sessions at the spectacular Sambodromo.
Ryan Tyack, Taylor Worth and Alec Potts will compete in the individual competition and will also combine to compete in the team event in Rio. They’re joined by Alice Ingley who will compete in the women’s event.
The ranking round, which is crucial for seedings for both the individual and team events, begins on the day of the Opening Ceremony (August 5) so the athletes have had to hit the ground running.
“Training has been good but I’m still trying to get over some jet lag so the body is a bit stiff and sore but some physio treatment will clear all that up,” said London 2012 Olympian Worth.
“The venue is great,” added Ingley.
“I was really surprised how it has come along since seeing pictures from the test event and it looks amazing. The venue is really good to shoot on.”
While Ingley wasn’t at the Rio test event, the Aussie men were and believe that experience will help them quickly adjust to the unique nature of the 2016 Olympic competition.
“Going to the test event was really beneficial,” said Tyack.
“It helps you realise what we will be working with.
“All the basic set up is quite similar so it was really good to see what that was like and what the weather conditions can be like.”
The team has been simulating the conditions of the competition, including shooting on a platform, in recent weeks but there are still plenty of challenges to address at the venue.
“The way the grandstands are here it’s hard to see what the wind is doing so depending where you are on the field that could have a huge impact,” continued Tyack.
“The last few matches each day will be shot under the fog-lights and that is extremely different to shooting in the sun.
“We got a chance to train on Thursday evening which was really helpful as we shot when the light was fading as the sun has been setting quite early.”
The Aussie men are looking to make history in Rio as they aim to win Australia’s first medal in the team event in Rio.
“I think our chance of a medal stems from our ability to reproduce what we are doing in training,” added Worth.
“Most of the time we are shooting well and if we can replicate that in this environment then who knows what could happen.”
The Aussie archers will train at the Edge tomorrow which is an Australian exclusive venue for high performance, relaxing and a place to meet up with family and friends.
They will return to the venue as the competition approaches and will get two 30 minute sessions on the field that the matches will be contested on.
Matt Bartolo
olympics.com.au
