Meet 23 of the state’s top archers shooting for glory at the NSW Short Distance Championships
They come from far and wide and all have a compelling unique story. Meet 23 of the state’s top archers set to take aim at Sydney Olympic Park at this weekend’s Short Distance Championships.
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All roads lead to Sydney Olympic Park this weekend, where the state’s best archers will take aim during the ASNSW Short Distance Championship from May 27-28.
From under-14 young guns through to the veterans category (70+), more than 100 entrants from across the state will compete over two days in one of the largest NSW archery events this year.
With a range of equipment styles including compound, barebow, longbow and Olympic recurve, spectators can expect to see more than a handful of Olympians and Paralympians battle it out from close range.
Short distance events see competitors shoot three sets of 30 arrows over three different distances for a total of 90 shots. Distances vary for each age bracket and bow type.
According to Peter Choo, the youth officer for Sydney Olympic Park Archers, the competition will be intense.
“In addition to competing for the state short distance title, competitors will receive recognition towards their individual national rankings,” said Choo.
“As a World Archery recognised event, performance awards can also be attained along with the opportunity to set national and state records.
“ Points also count towards the Archery NSW Sportsperson of the Year Award, and the best performing club will win the Ross Herron Memorial Shield.”
Meet 23 of the state’s top archers competing at the ASNSW Short distance championships.
DARREN CANDRA (AGE: 17, CONSTITUTION HILL)
Since swapping a basketball for a bow five years ago, Darren has rocketed up the charts and is now the No. 1 ranked under-18 barebow archer in the country.
Shooting without the aid of sights and stabilisers, the Redeemer Baptist School student is inspired by Australian Michael Fisher, the barebow bronze medallist from the 2014 World Field Archery Championships.
Looking ahead, the ambitious 17-year-old has visions of winning the open’s national title and taking up coaching.
NORMAN SIM (AGE: 68, LIDCOMBE)
After stumbling across the Sydney Olympic Park facility almost a decade ago, the former natural gas industry expert hasn’t looked back.
Until hitting the range, Norman had no other active sporting interests, but now looks forward to “shooting until I'm in my 90s”.
Another Michael Fisher fan, Norman is an inspiration to his club’s young shooters and claims to use every competition as a practice for the next one.
ADITYA PATIL (AGE: 15, GLENWOOD)
Aditya began firing arrows in his backyard during the pandemic with online tuition. Intrigued by the shooting skills of the brave warriors of the Mahabharata in the ancient Indian religious epics, his development has been rapid since arriving at Sydney Olympic Park in February.
Flagged by those in the know as one to keep an eye on, his dream of an Olympic gold medal may yet grow legs.
TARA CHOO (AGE: 14, CHATSWOOD)
Tara competes in the under-16s and recently represented Australia in the Trans-Tasman Challenge and the World Archery Oceania Championships.
Not to be messed with, the rising youngster also enjoys Muay Thai boxing and brushing aside egg yolks, while she eats the whites.
Inspired after meeting 2016 Olympic bronze medallist Taylor Worth, Tara’s goal is to represent Australia at the highest level.
SOPHIA JEROCHIM (AGE: 14, CAMPBELLTOWN)
With less than 12 months in the sport, Sophia doubles as an ice skater who has shown great commitment in the discipline of barebow recurve.
Notes Aussie recurve specialist Laura Trezise as her favourite archer, and in a sport jam packed with global opportunity, she can’t wait to compete overseas one day.
BRANDEN TSE (AGE: 16, ERMINGTON)
As a six-year-old with close-distance vision impairment, Branden was directed to pursue shooting sports by an optometrist.
Bullseye! Now in year-11, the accomplished youth is off to Ireland in July to compete in the World Archery Youth Championships.
With aspirations to compete at the 2028 and 2032 Olympics, the boy with a heart of gold shouldn’t be underestimated, having recently raised funds to assist with the education of children in Cambodia.
IMALIA OKTRININDA (WOMEN’S OPEN, OLYMPIC PARK)
Born with spina bifida, Imalia had absolutely no interest in sport until spotting archery at Sydney University.
Since taking up competition in 2018, the inventory analyst has become a recurve specialist. Using a non-magnified sight and stabilisers, Imalia has set two national records and finished ninth at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games.
An Olympic Park resident and big fan of Aussie rep Jess Greenstein, Imalia hopes for more green and gold competition at both Paralympic and Olympic level.
MATILDA MOBBS (AGE: 13, GLENMORE PARK)
Matilda dreams of becoming a dual Paralympian in both archery and swimming. Competing with spina bifida, the 13-year-old has been shooting for two years and is mentored by Imalia Oktrininda.
An inspiration to her teammates, the Penrith local competed in her first international event in January at the World Archery Oceania Para Grand Prix.
In addition to hitting targets she loves to read. But not just one novel at a time, incredibly she usually has three or four books on the go at once.
JASON HURNALL (AGE: 21, WOLLONGONG)
Jason is a recurve shooter, and has been with the Illawarra Archers for more than three years since transferring from the Canberra Archery Club.
Nearing the end of a double degree in Engineering and Physics, he has immersed himself in the sport since satisfying his medieval interests as a 10-year-old.
Loves nothing better than Taffy his pet cat, but with a world youth championship already under his belt, a full-time carer might be required if he can reach his Olympic goal.
LEXIE FEENEY (WOMEN’S OPEN, LAKE MACQUARIE)
Lexie was introduced to archery on a family holiday to Fiji in 1999, and subsequently joined the Blacktown club as an 11-year-old. Now representing the Newcastle City Archers, she has competed for around 17 years.
No stranger to injuries, she has jumped between sports to manage recovery but is now back on the bow training five days a week.
With a lengthy list of achievements, Lexie still dreams of adding Olympic gold to her performances at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2010 Delhi Comm Games.
Outside of her own performance goals, Lexie says she’s ready to give back to the sport and help others reach their goals, and is particularly interested in growing women’s participation.
CIRILO ALMARIO (AGE: 50, BLACKTOWN)
In a sport where holding still and maintaining focus is paramount, the man they call Ci is an enigma. From obtaining a taekwondo black belt at age 40 to running ultra trail marathons in consecutive days, the star marksman is tough to pin down.
Extremely devoted and a respected mentor, the civil engineer is only a couple of points away from becoming the No. 1 barebow archer in Australia. All the more remarkable, given he only took up competitive shooting two years ago.
KEN SUN (AGE 35, CHERRYBROOK)
A member of the Northern Archers club at Pennant Hills, Ken has been hitting targets for 12 years and competing for three.
Using a bow with magnified sights and mechanical pulleys, he competes in the men’s compound class where he has finished second at state target and indoor competitions.
With a shooting style similar to American world titleholder Jimmy Lutz, Ken is keen to finish on the podium in Australian colours.
KYE LOCKYER (AGE: 13, COFFS HARBOUR)
Still only 13, Kye has been firing in competitions since 2020 and recently finished first in the indoor RGB youth team.
A year-7 student at Coffs Harbour Christian Community School, the Sawtell Archers junior lists American compound archer Paige Pearce as his favourite, and hopes to continue his rise up the ranks and eventually compete for Australia on the world stage.
MADDY LOCKYER (AGE: 14, COFFS HARBOUR)
The older sister of Kye, Maddy has also been competing since 2020 with the Sawtell Archers.
After starting with the barebow, she has since progressed to a compound. A winner at last year’s ASNSW short distance championship, she has extended her good form into 2023 with victory in the under-16 division at the SQAS short range championship.
MICHAEL BARNETT (AGE: 48, PENNANT HILLS)
A Cornish sharpshooter, Michael believes his background in judo and carpentry is ideally suited to the single mindedness and millimetre precision required for archery.
After a shattered ankle closed the door on a 20-year black belt career, another opened after a ‘come and try’ visit to Sydney Olympic Park Archery Centre.
Now, four years later he has competed in recurve events around the world and done traditional archery in Japan.
Currently a member of the Northern Archers club at Pennant Hills, he is the current NSW Clout champion (shooting arrows at a flag). A member of the NSW Regional Development Program, Michael still hopes to represent Australia at a world event.
BRIAN LIM (AGE: 26, GLEBE)
From ping-pong to golf, Brian dabbled in most sports until vision of Legolas from the Lord of the Rings led him to the Sydney Uni Archery Club.
A lover of Chinese and Taiwanese tea, the commerce student has since matched it with the best in his three years on the recurve bow.
In a career highlight at the Keeping the Flame Alive tournament in 2021, he managed to tie with Olympian Taylor Worth twice before eventually losing the match.
KATRINA ROBINSON (AGE: 49, CAMDEN PARK)
With three children and a grandmother to six, Katrina still found time to start competing four years ago.
Introduced to the sport while collecting arrows for her wheelchair bound husband Garry, Katrina has progressed in spectacular fashion and will represent in the women’s compound at this year’s Archery World Championships in Berlin.
With a love of purple, Katrina is easy to identify on the range where she says her inspirations are Garry and American archer Paige Pearce.
GARRY ROBINSON (AGE: 49, CAMDEN PARK)
To say Garry Robinson is an inspiration would be an understatement. A victim of horrendous injuries from a Blackhawk helicopter crash while serving in Afghanistan in 2010, Garry has used archery to help resurrect his life.
After losing his left leg, the medically retired Australian Army Sergeant was introduced to the sport through the Invictus Games.
Shooting from a wheelchair and with a shoulder harness attached to his compound bow, after just three years of competition, the former triathlete qualified for the final of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Currently ranked 73rd in the world for the men’s open compound, Garry is aiming big at this year’s Para World Champs in France.
SYLVANA GIUFFRE (AGE: 55, CHERRYBROOK)
After taking up archery to “shut my husband up”, Sylvana’s relationship with the sport has been on-and-off.
With experience gained over the past 25 years, the taekwondo black belt returned to the range during the pandemic after a 12-year absence.
Shoe fetish aside, Sylvana admires the Korean Women's Olympic team and is the current NSW State Masters Recurve Female Champion.
KERRY HEATH (60+ FEMALE COMPOUND, CENTRAL COAST)
Kerry started as a social archer with the Coast Archers in 2010, however once her competitive instinct took over there was no turning back. In the years since, she has attended the past 10 National Championships, competed at the Australian Masters Games and the World Masters Games in NZ.
Currently ranked no. 1 in Australia in the 60+ female compound division, Kerry doubles as her club’s secretary and is training for the Masters Games in Adelaide later this year.
FIONA HYDE (60+, WOLLONGONG)
With 37 years in the game as a participant and administrator, there isn’t much this 2010 Comm Games competitor hasn’t seen.
Recently retired from the workforce, Fiona still competes with a compound bow for the Illawarra Archers and in a distinguished career has also competed at the World Field and World Target Championships.
In terms of favourite archery personalities, Fiona couldn’t go past the information shared by George Ryalls IV and John Dudley.
HOLLY PARKER (AGE: 15, UMINA BEACH)
Holly is a youngster from the Coast Archers club who took up the sport with her father eight years ago.
With numerous state championship medals, she is the No. 2 ranked under-16 compound archer in Australia. Already dreaming of Comm Games honours, her immediate goal is to represent Australia in the Youth World Champs in Canada in 2025.
Coached by Brian Hugo, she is a regular at the gym and trains six days a week at the range where she shoots around 60 arrows a session.
She credits the focus and discipline of archery for helping her deal with dyslexia and one day would like to become a physiotherapist.
MARIIA KURENKOVA (AGE: 25, MELROSE PARK)
Mariia’s archery journey has roots in Lviv, Ukraine, where she competed for three years. After a six-year hiatus, she returned to the sport last year with the Northern Archers club.
Intrigued by the sport while studying at Lviv Polytechnic National University, the former swimmer headed to the range and immediately fell in love with the profound emotions she experienced.
A medallist at Ukraine regional competitions, she enjoys the smooth style of Germany’s Lisa Unruh and aspires to become an Olympic medallist in 2028.
Follow competition results here, DAY 1 and DAY2.
Interested in trying archery, click HERE to find the closest club.
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