Paris Games will give Roux a shot at doing better than his parents

Wian Roux has his eye on the target and he will shoot his shot in Paris as he aims to put his bow and arrow into medal contention and go one better than his parents when the Olympic Games kick off this week.

The 21-year-old took part in the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2018, where he finished 17th in both the individual and mixed team competitions.

His qualification for the Paris Olympics made him the first men’s archer from South Africa to qualify for the Olympics in 16 years, the last being Calvin Hartley, who qualified for the 2008 Games. Karen Hultzer was the last SA archer to qualify for the Games, in 2012.

Born into a family of archers, Roux will be competing on the biggest stage of his career with his father, who is also his coach, by his side. Patrick Roux won a silver medal for SA at the World Archery Championships in 2013 in Belek, Türkiye.

Wian’s mother, Gerda, also represented SA at the 2013 champs in Belek where she won an individual bronze medal.

Roux described his qualification as a dream come true and he credited all his achievements to his parents’ presence throughout his career, and a lot of hard work in the past 10 years.

“I have learned a lot from my parents,” he said.

“Over the years they have been competing and winning medals overseas. The mindset and the ability to train and know what’s necessary to get there is a lot of work, it’s a lot of mental training and so many things. If you have an opportunity to have someone else teach you and guide you like my parents have, it is really important in one’s career.”

Roux is a member of the Pretoria Archery team. His participation in African championships and the fact that he has won three medals as a senior is something he will feed off but he also highlighted the importance of being physically and mentally fit.

“Having some wins behind you gives you more confidence. After you have had more of medal-match experience you learn how to handle nerves because you got to feel how it feels to perform on a big stage.

“Obviously, Paris is the biggest stage there is. You can’t go any further, but knowing that I have been there and I have done that before helps me to keep calm.

“It takes a lot to be prepared mentally. I go to mental coaches to get my head right and physically I shoot for a couple of hours for six or seven times a week, it’s constant work. I also do a lot of gym work in the afternoon after shooting just to keep the fitness up and keep the abilities there.”

The SA national record in recurve stands at 659 out of 720 by Hartley, and even though he will give it his all at the Games for a medal, Roux has also set himself some small targets.

“I would like to beat my personal best score of 651 at the Games. I’m also chasing the national record, but personally, if I can beat my personal best it would be a big achievement doing it at such a big stage.

“I want to shoot as good as I possibly can. If I can shoot as I have practised, what happens next I’ll be happy with. It could be a medal, if everything goes well. I’m hoping for a medal but if I can perform at the best of my abilities then the rest will take care of itself.”