Alec Potts
Australian recurve archer and Olympic bronze medalist.
Alec Potts (born 9 February 1996) is an Australian competitive archer who earned a bronze medal in the men's team recurve event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Potts was born in Clayton, Victoria. He began archery as a child while living with his family in the United Kingdom. After returning to Melbourne, he joined the AIM archery club in Cheltenham. While still in school, he launched an online equipment sales business called Eliza Archery.
His first international competition was the 2011 World Archery Youth Championships, where he placed 17th in 2015. At the senior level, he finished 33rd individually at the 2015 World Archery Championships and helped the Australian team to an 8th-place finish. At his second World Cup, held in Shanghai in 2016, he placed 17th individually and 9th in the team competition, after qualifying third with a score of 685—the highest ever recorded by an Australian in international competition.
In May 2016, Potts was selected for the Australian Olympic squad in Rio, competing in both the individual and team recurve tournaments. He scored 666 points, with 37 perfect tens and 13 bull's eyes, earning the 20th seed in the knockout draw. The Australian team posted a cumulative score of 2,005.
In the team event, Potts, Ryan Tyack, and London 2012 Olympian Taylor Worth entered as the fourth seed. They defeated France 5–3 in the quarterfinals, then lost 0–6 to tournament favorites South Korea in the semifinals. In the bronze medal match, they held off a late surge from China to win 6–2, securing Australia’s first medal of the Rio Games and the country’s first ever Olympic medal in a team archery event.
In the individual competition, Potts was eliminated 4–6 in the first round by local archer Bernardo Oliveira.
Along with eight other Australian athletes, Potts was detained by Rio police on charges of falsifying accreditation to attend Olympic events. They were released after the Australian Olympic Committee paid a fine, stating the athletes were not at fault.
At the 2019 Pacific Games, which also served as an Olympic qualifying event, Potts placed second in the individual men’s recurve competition.
Quick Facts
- Header Color
- #ff5468
- Full Name
- Alec Potts
- Nickname
- Pottsy
- Sport
- Archery
- Event
- Recurve
- Club
- AIM Archery
- Coach
- Simon Fairweather
- Birth Date
- 1996-02-09
- Birth Place
- Clayton, Victoria, Australia
- Height
- 185 cm
- Weight
- 77 kg
- Medal Templates
- Men's archery / Australia / Olympic Games / 2016 Rio de Janeiro · Team
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Potts took up archery as a child while living with his family in the United Kingdom. After returning to Melbourne, he joined the AIM archery club in Cheltenham. While still in school, he started an online equipment sales site called Eliza Archery. He first competed at the World Archery Youth Championships in 2011, finishing 17th in 2015. At the 2015 World Archery Championships he placed 33rd individually and contributed to an 8th-place finish by the Australian team. At his second World Cup, in Shanghai in 2016, he placed 17th individually and 9th in team competition, after qualifying third with the highest Australian international score of 685.
Reader's Guide
At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Potts was selected for the Australian squad in both individual and team recurve tournaments. He recorded 666 points, 37 perfect tens, and 13 bull's eyes to take the twentieth seed heading to the knockout draw from the classification round, along with his team's cumulative score of 2,005. In the team competition, he and his compatriots Ryan Tyack and London 2012 Olympian Taylor Worth, in fourth place, beat France 5–3 in the quarter finals, then lost in straight sets (0–6) to tournament favorites South Korea in the semifinals. In the bronze medal match, they held off a late reaction from China (6–2) to secure Australia's first medal at the Rio Olympics and first ever Olympic medal in a team archery event. In the men's individual recurve, Potts was eliminated 4–6 in the opening round by local archer Bernardo Oliveira. With eight other Australian athletes, he was held by Rio police on charges of falsifying accreditation to attend Olympics events and released after payment of a fine by the Australian Olympic Committee, which stated that the athletes were not at fault. Potts placed 2nd in the individual men's recurve competition at the Olympics qualifying event hosted by World Archery in association with the 2019 Pacific Games.
Did You Know?
- Potts started an online equipment sales site, Eliza Archery, while still in school.
- He qualified third at the 2016 Shanghai World Cup with the highest Australian international score, 685.
- In the Olympic team bronze medal match, Australia beat China 6–2.
- Potts was held by Rio police with eight other Australian athletes on charges of falsifying accreditation.
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