This article is dedicated to the success of British archery athletes in the international arena. All statistics are given according to the World Archery Federation (WA) rankings and relevant at the time of publication of the article.
Recurve Women
Naomi Folkard
Since April 2021, Naomi has been ranked 39th among the best archers in the world. In 2009 she was ranked 9th.
Folkard won prizes in many tournaments, here are some of her best results:
– 2nd place in the Cortina 2018 World Archery Field Championships, September 2018, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy;
– 2nd place in the Wroclaw 2017 World Games, July 2017, Wroclaw, Poland; – 2nd place – World Archery – Final Rio 2016 Olympic Qualifying Tournament, June 2016, Antalya, Turkey;
– at the 2019 European Games, which was held in Minsk, Belarus, Naomi won two medals: gold in the women’s team event and silver in the mixed team competition.
Hazel Chaisty
Hazel is an experienced archer, and the recurve bow is her strong side. She is 6th in the ranking of the best archers (Para-Archery) since 2020.
This high result was facilitated by winning prizes in the following tournaments:
– 1st gold place – 5th Fazza Para Archery World Ranking Tournament – Para World Ranking, April 2019, Dubai, United Arab Emirates;
– 2nd place in the Paralympic Games secondary quota tournament, June 2019, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands;
– 3rd place in the 6th Fazza Para Archery World ranking Tournament, February 2020, Dubai, United Arab Emirates;
– 3rd place – 3rd Fazza International Para-Archery Tournament, 2017, Dubai, UAE, United Arab Emirates.
Recurve Men
David Phillips
David is among the twenty best para-archers in the world and ranks 11th in the WA rank. David's best results:
– 1st place in the Para Archery European Cup Circuit – 1st Leg – Para World Ranking, April-May 2019, Olbia, Italy;
– 3rd place in the 's-Hertogenbosch 2019 Paralympic Games secondary quota tournament, Netherlands.
Compound Women
Ella Gibson
Promising young archer Ella took 2nd place in January this year in the competition Indoor Archery World Series Online and won 1st place in February. Ella is currently ranked 34th in the world rankings.
Layla Annison
The eighteen-year-old Layla has not won any major adult tournaments yet but has been in the top ten archers at some of these tournaments several times. These results allowed her to get into the top 50 of the best compound bow archers. Layla has 45th place in the World Archery ranking. She is one of the best Britain’s female compound archery.
Jessica Stretton
Jessica is one of the strongest para-archers in the world. She takes 3rd place in the WA ranking.
Here are some of Jessica’s best results:
– 1st place in the Para Archery European Circuit 2nd Leg World Ranking Tournament, June-July 2018, Nove Mesto nad Metuji, Czech Republic;
– 1st place, mixed team event, Czech Target 2017 – Para Archery European Cup Circuit 2nd leg, Nové Město, Czech Republic;
– 2nd place in the World Archery Para Championships + PG QT Para World Ranking, June 2019, 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
Jodie Grinham
At the moment, Jodie is ranked 5th, and in 2019 she was the third strongest para-archer in the world.
Jodie's best results in compound archery:
– 1st place, gold final, in the 5th Fazza Para Archery World Ranking Tournament – Para World Ranking, April 2019, Dubai, United Arab Emirates;
– 2nd place in the 3rd Fazza International Para-Archery Tournament, January 2017, Dubai, UAE, United Arab Emirates.
Compound Men
James Mason
James is ranked 33rd in male compound archery WA ranking, in 2019 he held 18th place.
At international competitions, he often entered the top 10:
– 6th place in the Hyundai Archery World Cup, July 2018, Berlin, Germany; – 7th place – Veronica’s Cup 2018 World Ranking Event, April 2018, Kamnik, Slovenia.
Adam Ravenscroft
Several years ago, Adam was among the 20 strongest archers in the world, at the moment he is ranked 46th in the WA rankings. One of his best results on the international stage was bronze in the Copenhagen 2015 World Archery Championships, Denmark.
Nathan MacQueen
Among compound bow male para-archers, Nathan is ranked 4th in the world. There are gold, silver, and bronze medals in his collection:
– 1st place in the 3rd Fazza International Para-Archery Tournament, 2017, Dubai, UAE, United Arab Emirates;
– 2nd place in the Second Fazaa International Archery Tournament, 2016, Dubai; – 3rd place in the Para Archery European Cup Circuit – 1st Leg – Para World Ranking, April-May 2019, Olbia, Italy.
John Stubbs
In 2015, John was the world’s best para-archer according to the World Archery rating. At 55 years old, John is one of the most mature British archers. Although he is currently ranked 16th in the world rankings, his victories will always inspire athletes. One of these legendary victories is gold at the Paralympic Games, 2008, Beijing, People’s Republic of China.
Peaceful sports archery unites people all over the world, and it can be practiced by people of almost any age. And in order to start practicing, a beginner, like an athlete, will need archery gear: recurve or compound bow, arrows, arrow quiver, archery breast guards, forearm protectors, possibly other archery accessories, and target for shooting.
In conclusion, let’s wish all archers hitting the bull’s eye.
