Off-field atmosphere unique experience at Youth Olympics says Alyssia

Alyssia Tromans-Ansell secured a place in the second round of the girl’s competition at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games by beating Nicole Marie Tagle of the Philippines in five sets, 6-4, during Monday’s afternoon session.

That first individual match was her third appearance in the arena after shooting two head-to-heads in the mixed team event in which, paired with Reza Shabani of Iran, she finished ninth.

"I feel like I have done well already,” she said. “My first arrow in the finals field was a 10, so I’m just happy to be here and I’ll be happy with whatever result it is as far as I know that I have tried my best.”

A former gymnast, 17-year old Alyssia started archery six years ago following a bad allergic reaction that affected her joints. She fell for the precision of the sport and the importance of correct shot execution.

She debuted internationally in 2016 and only one year later, she qualified this place for the Youth Olympic Games. It’s already been an “amazing and remarkable experience” that she said will only help her future in archery.

“[Experiencing the Youth Olympics] is very important because the archery side of it, isn’t different to a normal international, but when you get out of the archery field or the finals field, it’s completely different,” she explained.

“Especially here, you’ve got beach handball people walking past you as you get into the training field and seeing that, makes you realise you are at the Olympics.”

Archery shares its Parque Sarmiento venue with beach handball and shooting.

Alyssia will take to the arena again for her second individual match on Tuesday morning when she faces Valentina Vazquez of Mexico. The winner makes it into the quarterfinals.

She’s not going to rush things.

“I’ll make sure I’m more precise with every arrow because going on and off the line in a mixed team is different from staying on the line,” she said. “You can preload your arrow while the other person is shooting, so you’ve got plenty of time in the individuals matches. I’ll take extra care.”

The third edition of the Youth Olympic Games takes place on 12-17 October 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.