WILLS: “I have never been so wet!”

Alan WILLS (GBR): “I have never been so wet!” Kaohsiung (TPE) – 25 July 2009   Silver medallist at the Duisburg 2005 World Games, Alan WILLS (GBR) is back with ambitions. He was 3rd yesterday under heavy rain. We caught up with him at the end of the competitions.   Hello Al! How was it out there? Very hard! This is the heaviest rain I have ever shot in! I have never been so wet. Everything is wet! However I shot OK. I am happy with my 371 points and anyway I love to shoot field, it’s fun!   What do you expect from the World Games? There are not as many competitors in the World Games as in the world championships but only the best are here. It’s fun to shoot with the likes of Sebastian, Michele, Vic and the others. My teammate John SHALES was also shooting very well back home. He was among the favourites in my mind, but I am not sure what he did on the first course. So it’s a lot of fun, but you know I always want to win.   How did you qualify to come here? We had to shoot three competitions back home, one of them ranked as hard course. Then we added the scores and the first two athletes qualified. It was not easy to fit in these three competitions together with the Archery World Cup and the trials for the outdoor world championships, but I am happy I made it.   Did you make the selection for the world championships as well? Yes. Basically it will be the same team as in Leipzig 2007 and Beijing 2008. Naomi (who is shooting in Kaohsiung too), Allison, Charlotte, Simon, Larry and myself.   How do you see that coming? We have a lot of pressure back home. We earned a lot of medals in Leipzig, so we got more funding. However, to keep the funding, we need the same kind of results in Ulsan. We want to do our best, but it will be tough; there is always a bit of luck involved. In any case the Olympic Games in London are also a factor in the funding, so we will see how it goes.   Moreover, I learned a lesson from the Olympic Games in Beijing: forget the expectations. We had a lot pressure and we didn’t perform. Honestly I did not enjoy archery for a long while last year, but now I am feeling much better.   Thanks and good luck in Kaohsiung first!   Didier MIEVILLE FITA Communication