TELFORD archer Penny Healey admitted Germany were simply too good for her British trio as they bowed out the women’s team event in the last 16.
Healey was competing alongside Megan Havers and Bryony Pitman, but they had no answer to the accuracy of their German opponents, who progressed 6-0 after winning the opening three sets.
“I think we did well,” Healey said. “This is our first Olympics all together as a team, so we did what we could during that match.
“Germany are just a really good team.
“I really like the atmosphere. I like having the nerves, which I tell myself is excitement. It’s really nice.”
The 19-year-old was among the first British athletes to compete in Paris, with archery’s ranking round having taken place last Thursday – the day before the Opening Ceremony.
She now switches her focus to the individual event in which she will have to do it the hard way having qualified in 52nd.
Healey, ranked eighth in the world, faces world no.21 Hunyong Jeon of Korea on Thursday afternoon.
She will be working closely with two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Nicky Hunt before then and, fired by a ‘nothing to lose’ mentality, will bid to put on a performance closer to that which the European Games champion and former world no.1 knows she is capable of.
“I’m going to do a lot of technique stuff as I always do in practice,” she said.
“A lot more focus on score. I will have Nicky with me, so she’ll be helping me out with that as well.”
Healey’s fellow teenager Havers, 16, is up against Spaniard Elia Canales in the individual event while Pitman, the only member of the women’s archery squad with prior Olympic experience, takes on Mexico’s Angela Ruiz.
“We’ll be back here on Monday supporting the men’s team,” Pitman said.
“Over the next couple of days, I’ll probably have one day off, and then back into training, get some alternating shooting and scoring done with some of the others.
“Me and Megs have been playing a game where one of us will shoot and the other one has to do better on the next arrow.
“So just to get into the rhythm of the individual alternating as well.”
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