A British teenager inspired by Robin Hood, a skilled archer popular in British legend, has set a world record in archery by shooting an arrow nearly 500 metres. Zak Crawford, 14, shot an arrow nearly 500 metres — equal to the length of five football pitches — using a recurve bow at the Northern Counties Flight Championships. He
also broke world records in the junior recurve and junior compound categories at the competition at RAF Church Fenton in Yorkshire, Daily Mail reported on Saturday.
Zak Crawford said he was “over the moon” at winning the hat-trick of world records. “I have been practising really hard but I certainly didn’t expect to come away from the competition with three world records, I’m over the moon,” the youngster said. “I managed to get the technique right on the day and I couldn’t believe it when the arrows went so far,” he said.
Zak, who enjoyed watching Robin Hood films as a child, took up archery at the age of six after trying it at a fair.
He became the youngest member of his local club and got into the county team at the age of seven and the East Midlands team two years later when he was just nine.
He started with target shooting but was later introduced to Flight Archery, which is based on the distance an arrow travels. Flight Archery is the oldest type of archery which does not involve a target. It is also referred to as the Formula 1 of the sport.
—IANS