ADAM CARPENTER
At 19 years old, Adam Carpenter has moved up into the Junior category in the compound men division. Going through his fourth World Youth Championships, Adam spent some time with us answering some questions about his week at the event.
This season already, he made his Hyundai World Cup debut at the Paris Stage and will be shooting at the World Championships in Yankton in September.
How did you feel ahead of unofficial practice?
Ahead of unofficial practice I felt pretty chilled, relaxed and ready for the week ahead. I’m really looking forward to shooting the bow after a lovely nights sleep after arriving late yesterday night. The week will be great, I’m excited to be shooting with the team as it’s been a long time.
What was the field like?
During unofficial practice, the wind was stronger than preferred, but at least it was consistent. This made moving the groups easy for me. The field had great shelter from the sun, which was great and definitely needed. I like the layout of the event and where the main field is, but it is very open.
How did official practice go?
It felt good, the shots felt strong and solid and I’m committing to making the shot. That’s giving me a lot of confidence that they’re going to land good. The bow is shooting well as long as I shoot well. I’ve used today to get used to the feeling of the field. Getting used to how people around me are shooting. There’s not need to overthink during official practice, just a good time to get a feel of the shot and tweak little bits if I needed to.
Talk us through what happened on qualification day
I felt great, I got my sleep, great sleep. I was ready. I headed straight to the practice field to help Lewis with a couple of pieces with his kit, then we’re getting to it. A bit of extra preparation for the day ahead. My equipment was shooting great and I had a lot of confidence in it. I was buzzing.
Qualification went just as good as the conditions allowed me. It started off very difficult with some very strong wind and some extreme gusts. I managed to shoot my arrows at the ideal moments, but others I got caught which brought my score down. When the wind calmed down, my scores slowly crept up and I ended with a 697. It isn’t ideal, but I did all I could in these conditions.
How did the eliminations go?
During the matches I felt surprisingly relaxed. I was happy with my mental game through the entirety of my matches. Making it through my first with a 6-point lead gave me confidence going into the 1/16 matches. I ended up in a shoot-off to win the 1/16 match against Belgian Quinten Van Iooy and taking the win with an X.
After the matches I felt satisfied and proud as I was working on lots of different things. I’m happy with finishing 9th at a World Championships. Now I'm heading to the senior Worlds off the back of the youth Worlds, I’m really looking forward to the experience as this will be my first senior Worlds. I’m going to put in some serious hard work and practice behind the scenes to make sure I’m ready and prepared.
I feel very chilled and confident about how the event will go, I’m just going to shoot the bow and enjoy it.