Olympic accolade for archer

DENTON archer Tom Barber a member of Thorpe Hamlet Junior Archery Club, has been named among the athletes of the year by the British Olympic Association.

DENTON archer Tom Barber a member of Thorpe Hamlet Junior Archery Club, has been named among the athletes of the year by the British Olympic Association.

Introduced in 2005, to mark its centenary year and the success of bringing the 2012 Olympic Games to London, the BOA presented a trophy to each of the 35 Olympic governing bodies for them to award on an annual basis to their top Olympic athlete.

To mark outstanding performances in 2008, Tom was awarded the trophy for archery, in a year where he made the last four in the Olympic shoot-off, was men's Beijing reserve, and continued to develop into one of the UK's top archers.

“Tom has had a great year, and is fully deserving of this award,” said Archery GB chairman Lynne Evans.

“He is an outstanding young archer and a thoroughly nice lad into the bargain.

“And at this rate, not only will he be a contender to take part in the London Olympics in 2012, he'll be a contender for a medal. I wish him every success.”

Sir Clive Woodward, BOA director of elite performance added: “The presentation of the Olympic Athlete of the Year Award recognises the drive, determination and commitment of elite athletes across all of our Olympic sports as they strive to achieve their goals in the international sporting arena.”