18-year-old Penny Healey, from Shropshire, became the latest British recurve woman to win the Hyundai Archery World Cup season opener in Antalya, Turkey. She defeated Elina Idensen from Germany in a straight-set victory on Sunday, securing her place in the Sanlida World Archery Rankings and reaching number one.

Healey’s win follows that of Bryony Pitman, who won the same event in Antalya in 2021, making it two years in a row for a British recurve woman to win the season opener. Healey’s latest victory cemented her status as one of the rising talents in archery, having also won the Indoor Archery World Series Finals earlier this year and made the final four at the Paris stage of the outdoor circuit last season.

The win in Antalya also secured Healey’s place at the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final, although this victory comes with a slight caveat as the leading nation in archery, Korea, was absent from the tournament. Despite this, Healey remains confident in her ability, having beaten An San in eliminations in Paris last year and taken Choi Misun to a shoot-off.

Healey’s achievement is notable as prior to 2021, Great Britain had not had a recurve world number one in the World Cup era, but now the nation has had two in just the last four months, courtesy of Healey and Pitman. This success is indicative of a team to watch this season, with Olympic qualifying starting this summer at the Hyundai World Archery Championships. The competition for spots will be fierce, and having young archers with the ability to win on the home stage could make all the difference for any team.

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