An 18-year-old archer from Shepperton will compete with Team GB at this summer's Tokyo Olympics after a year's delay to the games saw him claim a spot in the men's team.
James Woodgate took up archery at the age of seven, and is the youngest member of Great Britain's Archery squad destined to compete at Tokyo this summer.
He was previously named as a reserve for the games, but after they were postponed for a year amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic he managed to clinch a place in the first team.
In 2020, Woodgate won the ‘Most Potential’ award in the TASS Stars Awards, and he has since earned his Olympic qualification.
He will compete alongside a fellow Olympian debutant Tom Hall and 2016 Olympian Patrick Huston, who forms part of the three-pronged men’s outfit descending on Japan along.
The 25-year-old, one of over 1,000 National Lottery-funded elite athletes on UK Sport’s World Class Programme along with Woodgate, said: "He’s got tremendous scoring power and in terms of firepower on the team, he’s a fantastic asset to have.
"But he is unproven on the international stage. He’s done a few events internationally as a junior but nothing as a senior, and I don’t think he’s brought back any medals.
"He’s got this amazing upward potential, but the standard in the world has just been going up for the past decade."
Patrick Huston (GBR) of United Kingdom competes. REUTERS/Yves Herman.
Patrick, who was knocked out by the eventual Gold medallist Ku Bon-chan of South Korea in the last 32 in Rio, struck a cautious tone describing James's upcoming debut at the Olympic Games.
"He’s already proven himself at British level but when it comes down to the international scene, when you’ve got the knockout head-to-heads, it really comes down to that absolute fortitude of mind.
"He’s definitely got the standard, and I believe he’s got the balls to bring it, but it still comes down to those little moments where you think: are you in absolute control of your mind?" He said.
UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme has powered Woodgate’s burgeoning career and allows him to train full-time, access the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering technology, science and medical support.
He only finished studying at Halliford School last year but after a gruelling 12 months of training following Tokyo postponement, his unlikely Olympic dream was alive and kicking.
"In terms of what the three of us are able to do as a team, we’ve now got James pushing the standard and our consistency up," Huston said.
"As a group, we’re pushing the boundaries higher and higher. I think we’ll be seeing quite a few medals coming back for the whole British team. Having James there definitely sharpens us up and adds a bit of spice to the mix.
"When I’m standing there in practice, the middle gets filled up for James so consistently – and I don’t want to be miles off him.
"There’s an expectation and a sense of personal pride that I have to be doing that standard. I’m a two-time Olympian now and have got a decade of international performance, and I’m not having this youngster beating me!"
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