#Rio2016 | WA Archer Achieves Lifelong Dream
Western Australian archer Alice Ingley has today been confirmed on the 2016 Australian Olympic Team for the Rio Olympic Games.
The 23-year-old from Perth, quit her job in February and self-funded a move to Brisbane to train with the national squad, aimed at increasing her chances of gaining Olympic selection.
That move has today paid dividends after she was confirmed as the single female archer on the 2016 Australian Olympic Team, as she now prepares to live out a lifelong dream.
“I was always into lots of sports during my childhood and so my Olympic dream has always been there,” Ingley said.
“It’s definitely starting to hit home now. I guess I won’t fully realise until I arrive in Rio but it is definitely exciting and something I have worked a long time for.”
She got her first taste of international competition at the 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney and was the only female archer for the first Youth Olympic Games in 2010 before narrowly missing selection for the London Olympics in 2012, when she was listed as reserve.
After winning the Australian Open in 2014, Ingley took a break from the sport to rest and treat an on-going shoulder injury that had been troubling her since late 2010.
Ingley believes that a renewed confidence and refreshed approach underpinned her success.
“I went in to this selection period in a different headspace compared to before London and I definitely was peaking at the right time for Rio.”
That peak came during the Rio Team selection camps in Australia which saw her win the 2016 Australian Open to earn nomination to the Australian Olympic Committee through Archery Australia.
Ingley joins fellow Western Australian Taylor Worth, who is a member of the three-strong men’s team, with all four selected archers flying to Chinese Taipei on Monday for a 10-day training camp.
Having not shot at the Test Event held in February, Ingley can still picture where she will be competing at the Sambodromo venue, which is famous for hosting the annual Carnival.
“They took lots of photos and video from the Test event and around Rio so I’ve got a good picture in my mind of the layout of the competition venue and what to expect.”
Ingley’s selection takes Western Australia’s total current athlete numbers to 16, with further additions expected in tomorrow’s men’s water polo squad announcement.
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