Wian Roux will focus on hitting the mark as he competes in archery at the Paris Olympic Games on Thursday, 25 July. With his bow in hand, Roux will join the world's elite archers, while the top sevens rugby and football teams also begin their quest for medals. The Games officially kick off with the opening ceremony on Friday.

The Tuks archer's first challenge competing in the ranking rounds will be to ensure he does not finish last. If he does, things can get tricky. Roux could then face off against one of the top-ranked archers, which is never a good way to start a competition. 

His coach and Dad, Patrick, reckons a good result on Thursday will be if his son could rank between 40th-57. Sixty-four archers are competing.

"The higher Wian can rank, the better because it means he will compete against someone his equal in his first elimination match. I back Wian in the elimination because he tends to be at his best."

Roux set a South African record in 2023, scoring 651 out of 720 points. In the same year, he was also the African recurve champion. The Tuks student put his BCom studies on hold, hoping to be at his best and qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

"I am proud to be able to call myself an Olympian, but I don't want to be in Paris for the sake of being there. I want to make South Africa proud. It means winning more than one elimination match."

Roux has genuinely put in the long hours in the buildup to the Paris Games. He was on the shooting range for six days from 08:00 to 14:00 for most weeks, honing his archery skills. He also trained in the gym four days a week. 

"In archery, there are no short shortcuts. The sport often boils down to a mental game. That is why I tried to stick to a set routine day after day. An archer must shoot at least 300 arrows six days a week during training to be competitive. It equates to 1800 arrows.

"Many archers tend to think training is only about shooting arrows. But it is about more than that. During training, I try to imagine I am competing. So, I do what I would in an elimination round. It makes a difference; I am no longer overwhelmed and doubting my abilities when I line up to shoot in a competition.

"I am grateful to have my Dad as my coach in Paris. He has been coaching me for more than ten years. As far as I am concerned, he is the best coach in South Africa. One of the most important things I have learned from Dad is not to doubt my abilities. If you do, you are going to lose."

Patrick advised his son before they left for Paris that he should not forget to savour the whole Olympic experience.

"Wian should not forget that the only thing he can control during the competition is what he does until the arrow is released. That is his technique. Once the arrow is in the air, you can do nothing."