Taylor Worth

Lore & Background

Taylor Worth began archery at age 10 after participating in a school holiday program, quickly becoming hooked on the sport. He was disappointed when the Australian Institute of Sport cut archery from their elite sport development programs. Aside from archery, Worth enjoys outdoor activities such as paintball and rock climbing. Worth won gold in the under-18 men's team recurve at the 2008 World Youth Archery Championships in Antalya, Turkey, and also won the United States Open ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, he competed in the men's recurve team event, taking gold with a team score of 219, defeating Malaysia (ranked third in the world) who scored 212. At nineteen, he was the youngest Australian archer on the team and was coached by Simon Fairweather. In 2012, he competed in the Summer Olympics, beating world number one Brady Ellison in the round of 16 before losing in the round of 8. At the 2014 World Indoor Championship in Nîmes, he placed fourth, losing to teammate Ryan Tyack in the semi-finals and to Brady Ellison in the bronze medal match; his performance leading up to the semi-finals earned him the nickname 'The Ten Train'. At the first world cup of the year, he reached his second medal match but lost in a five-set match against Dutchman Rick Van Der Ven. Worth was part of Australia's men's team that qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, alongside David Barnes and Ryan Tyack. In the individual event, he was eliminated by Turkey's Mete Gazoz in the round of 16; in the team event, they lost to Taiwan in the first round. Worth and Alice Ingley were nominally selected as Australia's mixed team, but their combined ranking scores were too low to qualify for the event.

Reader's Guide

Taylor Worth's career is marked by consistent representation of Australia at the highest levels of recurve archery, from the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Summer Olympics. His bronze medal in the men's team event at the 2016 Rio Olympics, alongside Alec Potts and Ryan Tyack, stands as a significant achievement for Australian archery. Worth's early success at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, where he helped defeat the world-ranked third Malaysian team, and his gold at the 2008 World Youth Championships, highlight his long-standing presence in the sport. His victory over world number one Brady Ellison at the 2012 Olympics demonstrates his capability on the global stage. The nickname 'The Ten Train', earned during the 2014 World Indoor Championship, reflects his strong performance in that competition. Worth's participation in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, though ending in early elimination, continued his streak of Olympic appearances. His career illustrates the trajectory of an archer who progressed from youth championships to Olympic medalist, while also contending with changes in national sports funding.

Did You Know?

• Worth won a gold medal at the 2008 World Youth Archery Championships in the under-18 men's team recurve event.
• He defeated world number one Brady Ellison in the round of 16 at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
• Worth earned the nickname 'The Ten Train' after his performance at the 2014 World Indoor Championship in Nîmes.
• He was the youngest Australian archer on the team at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, aged nineteen.