Three of Archery GB’s World Class Olympic Programme athletes have said goodbye to being full-time archers.
Recurve women Bryony Pitman and Sarah Bettles, and recurve man Alex Wise, have stepped away from the World Class Olympic Programme, to focus on new opportunities away from the sport. Archery GB caught up with them to see how they're finding life off the shooting line.
How old were you/what year did you begin shooting, and what encouraged you to start?
Bryony: “11 years old/2008. My dad shot for the British Field team, and I wanted to be like him. I thought travelling the world for different archery competitions sounded really fun.”
Alex: “The first time I tried archery was with my family on a holiday in Turkey, we loved it, found a local club when we got home, and enrolled on a course as soon as we could. I finished my beginner’s course at the start of 2015 when I was 14 years old. I loved the fact that I was seeing progress all the time when I was practicing, which was very motivating, and I think that was what kept me going for so long!”
Sarah: “I first started archery at the age of 13 shooting recreationally for a couple of years before putting it to one side and focusing on my studies and other sports. At 21, I decided to try archery again at university and well and truly got the bug for it. Three years later in 2017, I made my national team debut.”
What has been your favourite archery memory to date and why?
Bryony: “Going to the World Cup Final with my dad as my coach. It’s one of only a few times I’ve been to an international event with Gary, and it was amazing to compete on that stage and share the experience with him.”
Alex: “Being able to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics was a dream come true. It’s the biggest stage in the world and I was able to do what I love in front of thousands of people, including my family and support network. That experience and opportunity made all the hard work and sacrifices worth it.”
What has been your proudest achievement?
Bryony: “I can’t pick one! Either becoming the first British World Number 1 for recurve since the World Cups began, winning the European Field Championships, or the World Cup in Antalya in 2022. Being World no. 1 was just a dream come true, and maybe I’ll get back up there one day. Field is where my real love of archery is, so winning that will always be special to me. But making all three finals and finishing with two golds and a silver at a World Cup was just something else. I’ll remember that day for a very long time!”
Alex: “My proudest achievement is a collation of four events: I was able to be part of qualifying full team quotas for the 2019 and 2023 European Games, both of which I attended, and for the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games. And though I was only able to compete at Paris 2024, I am so proud of being part of teams that may not have had buckets of medals, but delivered quota spots when it really mattered, when the pressure was at its highest.”
Sarah: “My proudest moment was a combination of moments really, shooting a new national record at the 2019 World Championships followed by earning full team quota places to the Tokyo Olympics, followed by winning team World Championship bronze and then going on to win team gold at the European games in Minsk all within the space of just over a week. And of course, representing Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics was an experience I will never forget.”
Why did you decide to leave the full time Olympic programme?
Bryony: “I decided to leave for a few reasons, but ultimately, I’ve grown up on the Olympic programme and want to experience different professional environments to ensure I have experiences outside of archery to further develop my perspective and ability to achieve a high-performance mindset in work and sport. The first year of an Olympic cycle is the perfect time to see what else is out there, learn different skills, and to build a new career.”
Alex: “I gave achieving my dream of becoming an Olympian everything after I missed out on the Tokyo Olympics. After achieving it at Paris 2024, I took a step back to evaluate what I had left in me for the World Class Programme. I believe that I could have carried on and kept up a good standard and made more GB teams for a while longer, but I think that would have been unfair on the current and future athletes and staff who wanted it more and were willing to give it more than I was going forward. Long story short, I didn’t have another four years of the grind left to give! So that, and a culmination of multiple other smaller contributing factors, ultimately led to my decision.”
Sarah: “The past few years since Tokyo have been a struggle for me with a string of injuries and struggles with my mental health which have ultimately led to my decision to step away from archery. Since putting down my bow I’ve started a new job as an internal sales engineer which has been a new and rewarding experience that I’m really enjoying.
“The support that I have received from everyone, friends, family, sponsors, and staff, on and off the line, along my archery journey has been instrumental to my successes. I would like to thank all the staff at Archery GB and in particular the coaches and practitioners who have well and truly held me together over the past few years. And of course, not forgetting all my teammates who I have shared so many amazing memories with.”
What’s next for you?
Bryony: “I’ve started an internship with J.P. Morgan Chase in London. I’ll be working within their Compliance Team, and I’ll also have the opportunity to learn about other parts of the business. I’m looking forward to the change of pace and learning things as I go.”
Alex: “I will be eventually finding a job and starting to work, and I am really interested in exploring some private coaching on the side to help progress the standard of the sport in our country. Since leaving the programme, I have been able to get my Level 2 coaching qualification, and I am eager to start working with some clients.”
Will you continue to shoot/compete?
Bryony: “I’m definitely going to continue shooting and competing. I’m able to fit more field in this year, so I’m excited for that. I’m also not ruling out another Olympics, 4 years is a long time! For now, I just need a bit of time to figure out the balance between work/archery/life, and then I’ll see what I can achieve.”
Alex: “I will! I have recently picked up a compound bow and will be doing some national competitions this outdoor season, but more for the social aspect. I am practicing less, expecting less, but having lots of fun and I see that continuing, so I am happy with the newfound archery balance!”
Archery GB would like to express our deepest thanks to Bryony, Alex, and Sarah for everything they have contributed to the progression of our sport, and we send them our well wishes for their futures.
