How dual Olympian Taylor Worth is fighting his way out of a ‘downward spiral’ of form amid the COVID-19 crisis — and the little boy that’s helping him on his way

The COVID-19 pandemic hit dual Olympian Taylor Worth hard. Here’s how the new dad is fighting his way out, and how young archers can take heart from his story.

Taylor Worth and his mum Tricia Davis. Picture: Adam Head

It was the enforced and apparent “luxury” of time that should have aided Olympian Taylor Worth.

But for the Rio medallist and dual Olympian archer, it proved exactly the opposite.

While the Queenslander prepared to embrace the COVID-19 period as an opportunity to right the ship ahead of the rescheduled Games, he found himself wildly offcourse.

And it’s only now he’s finding his way back.

“There was a period of time where I didn’t pick up the bow,” Worth admitted, having learned of the Tokyo Games postponement while in home quarantine following an Asian Cup event in Thailand, away from his young family.

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Worth at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Picture: AFP Photo

“It was a bit hard to look at. It was mourning the loss of the Games – it hit really hard. You train four years for your one moment, and then it’s gone.”

He pushed through, albeit to his own detriment, he now recognises.

Train, eat, gym, repeat.

“(I thought) … if you stop for a period of time now, you’re going to be much worse off if it ever comes around again,” he said.

“So I just plodded along, hitting my head against the wall at training, getting the arrows out and keeping the body moving. Even if sometimes I wasn’t properly in it.

“I kind of shut myself away … I wasn’t a pleasant person to be around for a while, and (my wife Emily) didn’t know how to help me … it wasn’t easy.

“She did an absolutely amazing job just being there whenever I needed her – even if it was just to be a shoulder or a hand to hold on the couch.

“I had started Olympic trials really well and some bad habits crept in, so by the end of it I wasn’t as strong as what I started, so I tried to take the opportunity to fix those issues rather than just kind of ignoring them and powering through for the upcoming season.

“Which led to a giant downhill spiral since then.”

Without his coach for a lengthy period as she dealt with family issues, he was “on my own, trying to figure out if this was the right thing to do or not”.

“I tried to take the time to fix and better myself, but I’m in a much worse position than I started, so I’ve got a lot of work to get back to even where I was.”

The pair have since reunited, now tasked with the unenviable job to “undo the damage that I’ve done to all the work” as July’s Games loom.

Ryan Tyack, Worth and David Barnes were all locked in for Tokyo earlier this year, and keep their spots despite the postponement. Picture: AAP Image

It’s been a lesson, but the drive remains strong.

“I’m not built to train, I’m built to compete,” Worth said.

“If I’m not in competition, I’m not really doing anything.”

Competition is now beginning across Australia – not a moment too soon.

The Indoor World Series begins this weekend, while Archery Australia’s Back To Archery series, where archers have competed online, is in its final weeks with Worth’s Olympic teammate Ryan Tyack in contention.

WORTH THE WAIT

Worth first picked up the bow in an after-school holiday program.

A keen sportsman, he’d never found his true love.

But at 10, it was sparked.

“They did all sorts of activities just to keep us busy and occupied, and they did archery one day. I just seemed to really enjoy it, and then I found a local club from there,” he said.

“The support that came from that club was huge and I just loved the environment. I just wanted to stay in it.”

And in a sign of hope for many young archers, the signs of the Olympic and Commonwealth Games glory that was to come wasn’t necessarily immediate.

“I was never very good at the start,” he laughed.

“I played every other sport under the sun growing up as a kid, but I just never really worked well in team sports. I couldn’t play well with others.

Tyack and Worth once roomed together as kids at the AIS, going on to win Olympic medals. Picture: Peter Wallis

“So when I found this individual sport that relied 100 per cent on what I did. It was an environment that I thrived in. I was 10 years old. I had a pretty good coach to start with, but then when I wanted to take things seriously, I found a coach that was an ex-AIS athlete who trained at my club. He’s been to the ‘tute (the AIS), that’s where I need to be.”

He went to three scholarship camps in Canberra for three heartbreaking knock-backs.

It would have been easy to walk away, he said, and “the first time hit me pretty hard”.

“In 2007, I got accepted and at 16 years old, I had my bags packed the next day and jumped on a plane and never looked back,” he said.

“It’s hard to think of my life without archery at the moment, going two thirds of it being behind the bow. It’s pretty crazy to think just how long I’ve been in it.”

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THE ULTIMATE TRANSITION

It hasn’t just been a huge few years on the range for Worth, who has also been adjusting to his biggest role yet – that of being ‘Dad’.

He and wife Emily welcomed their son Benjamin 18 months ago, which Worth said had completely shifted his perspective on being an elite athlete.

And it’s had its perks.

“It challenges me every day, just to be better and to be more organised for him,” the proud dad lauded.

“He’s a handful, he’s got a great personality and he just goes all day.

“My wife and I sat down at the start of the year with the calendar and worked out how many days I would be away leading into the Games.

It was something like 90 days overseas, without travel time or without camps. So just physically not in the house with my family. In a way I’m grateful for the time I’ve been able to bond with my son and grow our relationship.

“I do miss competitions, but family is bigger than sport.”

If anything, the juggle forces him to be more efficient as he also casts an eye to what life might hold beyond his archery career.

“Go back two years from now (I thought) ‘I’m just going to shoot forever and this is what I’m going to do’,” he said.

“That was really a bit of a pipe dream. But all of my decisions now affect more than me.

“They always affected my wife, but now they affect a child with his full future ahead of him, so I need to figure out how to support his future going forward.”

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Originally published as How dual Olympian Taylor Worth is fighting his way out of a ‘downward spiral’ of form amid the COVID-19 crisis — and the little boy that’s helping him on his way