Sleaford archer claims silver at national junior championships

Sleaford archer Jacob Boden stepped up to the mark when it mattered to help guide England to home nations victory.
Jacob (left), wearing the England shirt, on the second step of the podium after claiming his national silver medal EMN-171214-083437002Jacob (left), wearing the England shirt, on the second step of the podium after claiming his national silver medal EMN-171214-083437002
Jacob (left), wearing the England shirt, on the second step of the podium after claiming his national silver medal EMN-171214-083437002

The St George’s Academy pupil won a brilliant individual silver medal at the Junior National Indoor Championships with a personal best score in the under 16s boys’ recurve class, competing in a field of 34 archers.

Sleaford Maltsters were well represented in the category with Jacob’s clubmate Kian Watkins finishing in seventh place.

The result helped England top the team standings at Stoneleigh Park, pushing Wales into second place, with Scotland third and Ireland fourth.

“It was great that my dad and my uncle managed to come down and see me shoot,” Jacob said.

“I felt so proud to be able to shoot in front of them wearing the England shirt.”

Jacob has been competing at the Junior Nationals Indoor Championships since he was 10, so the level of competition didn’t come with much pressure for the 15-year-old.

But he did feel a certain of amount of pressure to perform well for his country.

“I didn’t want to feel like a passenger as part of the England team,” he added.

“I was more interested in this than chasing scores and medals.”

Archers faced a stop-start 60-arrow competition format with ends of only three arrows at a time, not conducive to building momentum.

Jacob said: “I knew if I could get into a smooth rhythm and keep the shot strong then I’d be fine.”

The Leasingham archer was in the thick of things in a close-fought competition, falling just four points behind eventual U16s winner Austin Whitmarsh.

He also finished tied on points with Szymon Mickiewicz, but pushed him into the bronze medal position by virtue of hitting two more golds.

But while everyone could follow the nip-and-tuck on the electronic scoring system, the team positions were only announced at the trophy presentations.

Jacob now returns to training, aiming to qualify to shoot for Great Britain next year with teams due to be sent to Italy, Greece and Argentina in 2018.

* There were further notable performances for the Sleaford club’s juniors with Jack Tucker finishing just a point outside of the medals to finish fourth in the under 18s men’s recurve competition.

His score earned him the The Margaret Lewis Trophy as the highest unrewarded archer at the championships.

Emily Coughlin also narrowly missed out on a podium finish in the under 18s ladies’ recurve, finishing fifth, just five points off a medal