On Thursday, when Wian Roux takes aim with his bow on the bull during the Summer FISU World Student Games in Chengdu, China, it will be with the purpose to medal.
He is no stranger to doing so. He won a silver in the recurve archery competition during the 2018 African Youth Games in Algeria. Currently, he is the African and South African champion.
Putting arrows into the centre of the bull is a family thing for the Roux’s. Mom, Gerda, the team coach at the Games, is herself an accomplished archer. She won a bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships. As far as could be established, she is one of only three South African female archers to have done so.
Dad, Patrick, will represent South Africa at the Wian Roux next week in Berlin.
Roux’s confidence sprouts from having shot a new South African record the last time he competed. He got a score of 651 out of a maximum of 720 points.
According to the Tuks BComm Marketing student in the past, he tended to get nervous during competition when it seemed he was on his way to a good score.
Wian Roux Pics: Reg Caldecott
“In our sport, it is a mistake you can’t afford to make. My dad suggested I start working with a psychologist to improve my focus. It has genuinely helped because archery is about having a good mindset. There are many similarities between archery and golf.
“I personally try to stick to a set routine day after day. Many archers tend to think training is only about shooting arrows. But it is about more than that. During training, I try and imagine I am competing. So I do what I would in an elimination round. It makes a difference; I am no longer overwhelmed and doubting my abilities when I line up to shoot in competition.”
Regarding his expectations at the World Student Games, Roux said, “I really would like to medal, and I think I can. If I don’t, I want to walk away knowing I have done my best.”
According to Patrick Roux, many think archery is an easy sport, but they are mistaken.
“World Archery believes to be competitive, an archer needs to shoot at least 300 arrows six days a week during training. It equates to 1800 arrows. During a competition, you could easily shoot up to 150 arrows.
“Many might not know that every time you draw back the bow, it is like lifting 24 kilograms. It means shooting 150 arrows is similar to moving 3 600kg of bricks from one pile to another. A recurve bow can weigh close to 12 kilograms. During a competition, an archer walks approximately seven kilometres to and through to collect his arrows from the target. All of this time, you need to be utterly focussed.”
Christian de Klerk (Tuks) will compete in the compound competition. Recurve is archery’s Olympic format.
