Bryony Pitman out of archery but hails 'incredible' Olympic experience at Invalides

By Paul Martin at Esplanade des Invalides

Bryony Pitman hailed an ‘incredible experience’ after her Olympic archery campaign ended at the last 32 stage.

The 27-year-old from Brighton began her morning by beating Mexico’s Angela Ruiz and was back on the Invalides stage just 15 minutes later.

China’s Li Jiaman proved too strong, winning in straight sets, but Pitman took the positives as she reflected on her time in Paris.

“I felt better, a lot less nervous,” she said. “But the shots just weren’t as clean.

“I hit a lot of nines, I don’t think I shot particularly badly, but it’s difficult when you lose every set by a point. It was a close match but that’s just the way it goes.

“In Tokyo, it was eerily silent with no spectators. There was still that pressure, you still wanted to perform, but for a sport that doesn’t get much exposure, coming out to this crowd has been like nothing I’ve ever experienced.

“It has been absolutely incredible and I’m so grateful to everyone who’s travelled to support, and the French support as well.

“It’s an absolutely beautiful setting and the whole week has been great.”

Pitman was a travelling reserve in Rio and finished ninth in the individual competition on debut in Tokyo.

Her performance may not have matched those levels this time around but she has played a valuable role in the British camp, guiding teenagers Megan Havers and Penny Healey through their maiden Games experience.

Havers, 16, made it through to the weekend’s round of eight and Pitman believes she can keep her fairytale run going.

“It has been fun,” she said. “It’s helped me get ready for the Olympics and be a bit more excited for it as well.

“Every question they ask it’s like ‘oh, there’s this or there’s that’.

“Watching Megs perform was just phenomenal, I’m so proud of how she did.

“She came sixth at the European Championships a month ago and the beauty of being that age is you have no expectations on yourself, and no-one has any expectations on her.

“You can just go out there and make the most of every opportunity. I really believe she has what it takes to go far, not just at this Games but in future Games as well.”

Pitman is one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing them to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support – which has been vital on her pathway to the Paris 2024 Games.

She is keeping her options open when it comes to her future and will be back competing on the global stage next month.

“We’ve got the World Field Championships in mid-September so I’ll carry on training until then,” she said.

“I’ll have a bit of a break after that as it’s the start of the next Olympic cycle and we don’t know what funding will look like.

“We’ll find out October or November time what the next four years will look like.”

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