Corby teenager breaks three archery World Records

A 14-year-old boy has broken an adult world record in Flight Archery.

Zak Crawford from Corby shot an arrow to a distance of 484.29 metres, which is nearly 13 metres further than the previous record.

He also broke records in two other categories in the Northern Counties Flight Championships at RAF Church Fenton.

Though Flight Archery is not an Olympic sport, Zak is still going to try for the 2012 games in target shooting.

Zak initially started with target shooting, but was later introduced to Flight Archery.

He said: "One of my Grandad's friends does a bit of Flight Archery and he took me to a competition, I tried it and quite liked it."

Flight Archery is sometimes referred to as the Formula 1 of the sport.

Competitors have to use a particular size and weight of bow and arrows that are specifically designed to fly for long periods in the air.

At the same event, Zak also broke two junior records and in future he aims to smash his record.

"I want to try and get past 600 metres, that will be a really hard target to break and will take a lot of work but I'll go for it," he said.

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'Robin Hood' schoolboy breaks world archery record after firing arrow 500 metres

A schoolboy who dreamed of being Robin Hood has smashed a world long distance record in Flight Archery after firing an arrow the length of five football pitches.

Zak Crawford, who is just 14, shot an arrow nearly 500 metres - an incredible 150 metres further than the previous record.

The teenager was competing in the senior under-35lb class using a recurve bow at the Northern Counties Flight Championships.

He also broke world records in the junior recurve and junior compound categories at the competition at RAF Church Fenton in Yorkshire.

 Zak, who started the sport when he was just six, said he was 'over the moon' at winning the hat trick of world records.

'I have been practising really hard but I certainly didn't expect to come away from the competition with three world records, I'm over the moon,' he said.

'I managed to get the technique right on the day and I couldn't believe it when the arrows went so far.'

Zak, who enjoyed watching Robin Hood films as a child, took up archery at the age of six after trying it at a fair.

He became the youngest member of his local club and got into the county team at the age of seven and the East Midlands team two years later when he was just nine.

He initially started with target shooting but was later introduced to Flight Archery, which is based on the distance an arrow travels.

'When I first began I was the youngest in my club and I found it very difficult as I was quite small and the bow was heavy,' said Zak, from Corby, Northants.

'But I really enjoyed archery and began training a lot so I soon got used to it.'  Zak now trains at Welland Valley Archery Club every night for three hours, firing 1,000 arrows each session.

'One of my Grandad's friends does Flight Archery and he took me to a competition. I tried it and quite liked it,' he added.

'It involves a lot of hand and eye co-ordination and you need strength to draw the bow back.

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