Western Australian archer Taylor Worth has secured selection for a second Olympic campaign after being named on Australia’s three-strong men’s Archery Team for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
The Brisbane based athlete at 25, will compete at a second Olympics, having debuted in London back in 2012, however the Busselton born eagle-eye is anticipating a very different experience in Brazil.
“Rio will be a completely different Olympic experience for me,” Worth said.
“In London I was the sole male competitor. Now with a full team it will change the whole experience. We are all shooting really well. If we are all on song on the right day then we are capable of potentially finishing on the podium.”
In 2012, Worth upset the world number one before losing a shoot-off in a later round, to end his Olympic experience in ninth.
Worth admitted his Olympic debut had been a steep learning curve.
“For London, I went in with all guns blazing without a real clue of what I was doing,” he recalled.
“But looking back some mistakes cost me very dearly and I know I have learnt a lot from that experience.”
Worth moved from Perth to Brisbane at the start of 2014 to train with the new national coach from Taiwan, Ya Ping Shah, and to live with and be pushed by close friend and fellow selected athlete Ryan Tyack (24). The duo will be joined in the squad, by 20 year-old Alec Potts.
Worth experienced the thrill of competing at an iconic venue in London and is looking forward to the opportunity to again compete in famous surrounds.
“Competing at Lords was an amazing experience, especially as I was a big cricket fan as a kid. Now for Rio we are fortunate to compete at the Samb√ɬ≥dromo which is so important to the Brazilian people with so much history and culture from the Carnival.”
The archers will go into a training camp in Brisbane this weekend to prepare for the next World Cup in Turkey. The squad will then return to Australia for a short break before a training camp in Taiwan ahead of the Games to replicate competition conditions.
Archery will be the second sport to get underway at the Games and before the Opening Ceremony. Women’s football play on the Wednesday August 3 and the important ranking round for archery takes place during the day on Friday August 5, just hours before the official Opening Ceremony.
Taylor Worth is the 10th officially selected Western Australian athlete on the 2016 Australian Olympic Team, with the final numbers expected to near 40.
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