Teenage archer aiming for Youth Olympics glory
Archie Christopher, from Solihull, will represent Team GB at the Youth Olympics in Senegal.
Teenage archer targets Youth Olympics success
Archie Christopher said he was "speechless" after finding out he had been chosen for Team GB's Youth Olympics squad
A teenage archer who took up the sport just four years ago is set to represent Great Britain at the Youth Olympics.
Archie Christopher, from Solihull, will compete in Senegal, with the event beginning at the end of October.
The 17-year-old, who trains at Meriden Archery Club, made his international debut only earlier this year, but he will help make history when he and the rest of Team GB compete in the first Olympic event ever staged on African soil.
"Its a shock that I'm going to an event such as this, considering I've only made my debut this year", he said.
The Youth Olympics competition begins on 6 November at Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Diamniadio, about 30km (18 miles) from the capital, Dakar.
Archie Christopher first started shooting four years ago after trying the sport in a taster session at Meriden Archery Club
Christopher said it was special to be part of the team competing in the first Olympic event ever held in Africa.
Asked how he felt when he was told he had been picked for the Great Britain team, he said: "I was speechless really. I don't know how to describe it. There's no real words".
At 17, Christopher is among the older members of the Team GB contingent, external heading to West Africa, and one of only two archers.
He is currently studying for a BTEC in engineering, but is unsure what he wants to do once the course finishes.
His father, Paul, said he actually learned before his son that he had made Team GB.
"I couldn't believe what I was reading and had to read it three times to make sure it was saying he'd been selected.
"I immediately forwarded the email to Archie and his mum because I was at work at the time and then phoned them up and we were all in bits."
The symbolic flame for the 2026 Youth Olympics was lit in Dakar, the capital, on 12 September
Even so, although his son is taking part in a history-making Youth Olympics, he said he will have to watch him shoot on TV.
"We have a younger son who going to be in school and can't really afford to take him out of school."
"We'll be watching and rooting for him from home."