PENNY HEALEY
The youngest of the Great British women’s team, Penny Healey, at 18 years old, has proven yet again that she is here to stay, and can only get better. Putting in the hours – including training after closing time at the training centre – Penny has quickly climbed her way to the top of the world rankings after winning her first two international competitions of the year, in Lilleshall and Antalya. The top recurve women’s rankings have seemed to be the most changeable over the past year. While the big names of Korea were not present in Türkiye, Penny told World Archery: “Last year, I beat An San, and took Choi Misun to a shoot-off, so I think I have potential against them.”
TELL US ABOUT YOUR WEEK AT THE ANTALYA WORLD CUP
“Qualification was not my strongest, team rounds we shot well together [but were] just unlucky that our opponents shot better than us. Going into my matches, I knew they weren’t going to be easy, coming up against Casey Kaufhold in the 1/8, I knew I had to shoot well from the start.”
HOW DID YOU FEEL WALKING INTO THE FINALS ARENA?
“Walking into the finals, I was confident because my technique had shot well in my matches, I was also nervous because it was my second World Cup stage final four. I didn’t believe that I had won at first, and I’m still in shock even now.”
YOU HAVE HAD A QUICK RISE ON THE SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT, HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL?
"It has all happened so fast. I haven’t had time to process it yet. I am thankful for my teammates who have helped me through last year and the start of this year.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK HAS CONTRIBUTED TO YOUR RECENT SUCCESSES?
“Having confidence in my technique, and recent success both indoors and outdoors has helped me to believe in myself more.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL AS AN ATHLETE NOW, COMPARED TO THIS TIME LAST YEAR?
“I feel more experienced after last year being my first year on the World Cup circuit. Physically and mentally, I am in a better place than last year.”
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?
“I am hoping to continue my medal streak in potential events like the World Youth Championships, the World Championships and to prepare myself for the World Cup Finals later this year.”
WHAT DOES A NORMAL TRAINING WEEK LOOK LIKE?
“A normal training week for me is having Monday as a rest day then shooting between 250 to 450 arrows per day for the rest of the week. I have school three days a week and multiple gym sessions. Leading up to an international, I like to ramp up my volume a bit more to allow my technique to feel stronger.”