Tokyo Olympics: 'I avoided telling people I did archery'

It's five days until the world's eyes turn to Tokyo and we're treated to a month of sporting excellence in the Olympic and Paralympic games.

There are 339 events happening in Japan's capital across 33 different sports.

Covid restrictions mean things will be a little different with some athletes refusing to take part because of them.

One team hoping to appear on the podium - for the first time since 2004 - is Great Britain's archery squad.

Competing for the first time and aiming for gold are Bryony Pitman, Sarah Bettles and James Woodgate.

Bryony says the sport benefits her physical and mental health

Although 24-year-old Bryony's been doing archery for years she "avoided telling people" about her love of the sport thinking "people wouldn't understand because it's not a common mainstream sport".

"To me, it was easier not to have those awkward conversations like, 'Why do you do it so much? Why do you like it so much? It's a weird thing to do'," she tells Radio 1 Newsbeat.

But that's all changed since getting her Team GB kit.

"Now because we've made it onto the Olympic team it sounds more cool to say 'I do archery' rather than someone thinking I spend all my time in a field shooting arrows".

For Bryony's teammate James, being proud of his sport has never been an issue.

"I think I was always a bit weird, so it didn't really matter too much," he jokes.

At 19, James is the youngest member of the GB Archery squad and has benefitted from the Games being pushed back a year.

James shot his first bow aged 7

When the Olympics was delayed James took a gap year and spent all his time intensively training.

"I wasn't at the level required last year, so because of Covid and the Olympics being postponed it's given me the opportunity to train on the squad.

"In a weird way I benefitted from lockdown."

In order to score points Olympic archers shoot at a 122cm-diameter target from a 70 metre distance.

To achieve maximum marks they must hit the gold centre ring - the bulls-eye - measuring just 12cm.

"I'll shoot between 200-400 arrows in a day," he explains. "But also mix it up with gym sessions and functional training."

That determination is what Sarah agrees with too.

The 28-year-old believes there's a common misconception that archers "don't train as much as other athletes" but she trains up to six days a week for up 10 hours a day.

"It's not as easy as we make it look," she says.

Sarah regularly horse rides as it helps core balance

"A lot of people see it as 'point at the middle and let go' but they don't realise if you're off by 1 millimetre at your end, that can work out as 18 centimetres at the other end, and that's the difference between a gold and a blue".

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year's Olympic Games will be held without spectators.

Unlike other sports like athletics, where a crowd can add to an athlete's performance, Sarah says in archery they're used to a more "polite applause" and therefore won't miss an audience too much.

"I go very into my own world when I'm shooting, so I forget about the crowds".

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