Olympic archer Pitman swaps bow for brainpower

Ace archer Bryony Pitman has swapped her bow for brainpower after enjoying an Olympic summer to savour.

The Shoreham star finished ninth in her individual event in Tokyo and has only now been able to reflect on her achievements.

After winning the British Championships in August, the 24-year-old went to the European Championships in Croatia where she won a mixed gold medal alongside Conor Hall, before finishing ninth at the World Championships in America.

She’s now back home and is turning her attention to a masters degree in Intelligence and Security at London’s Brunel University.

One of over 1,000 athletes who can train full-time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering technology, science and medical support thanks to vital National Lottery funding, Pitman said: “The Tokyo experience was just absolutely amazing. I think even with the restrictions, it was still like no event I’ve ever been to before.

“When you’ve only got that one thing it becomes the be all and end all and I actually didn’t perform as well. I was just so focused on that and putting so much pressure on myself.”

Pitman has her whole career in front of her and hopes learning the lessons from her Games debut can catapult her to future glory.

“I really enjoyed it and to say I finished ninth at the Olympics, I’m over the moon with that.”

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