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An Edam teenager is about to take aim at the world stage.
Fifteen-year-old Jordy St. Amant is in Winnipeg this week to represent Canada at the World Archery Youth Championships. The tournament is the biggest event of his young career, and comes just days after he swept the podium at nationals.
St. Amant captured gold medals in all three of his event in Lac La Biche, Alta., Aug. 9. His mom Sarah said it was a breakthrough moment.
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St. Amant stands on the podium after winning gold in Lac La Biche, Alberta. (Sarah St. Amant/submitted)
“This past weekend, we did outdoor nationals for all three disciplines; target, field and 3D, and he won gold in his age group, U18, for all the disciplines,” she said.
St. Amant’s journey started six years ago, when he decided hockey wasn’t for him. Jordy would go on to trade his hockey stick for a bow and arrow.
His mom said it quickly became clear he had a gift.
“He used to play hockey as a kid, and he decided he didn’t really want to do hockey anymore. We thought, ‘well, let’s give archery a try,’ and he really, really liked it and seemed to be quite skilled off the hop.” she said.
St. Amant shows off his three gold medals after sweeping his events at nationals. (Sarah St. Amant/Submitted)
St. Amant now trains with the Battle River Archers club in North Battleford, where his parents are also coaches. The club operates out of a converted curling rink and runs a Junior Olympic program for athletes aged six to 20.
For the St. Amants, archery has become a family passion. Sarah said what began as a weekend activity soon grew into something much bigger.
“We would just hang out and shoot our bows, just for fun, and just got really into it and got really competitive into it. So, me and my husband are quite competitive as well.”
At worlds, St. Amant will compete in outdoor target archery, shooting from 50 meters in head-to-head match play. His schedule begins Tuesday with qualifying rounds, followed by elimination matches that could stretch into the weekend. Medal matches are set for Saturday.
Match results will be available on the tournament’s website.
While his parents can’t be there from the start of the competition, Sarah says the family will head to Winnipeg later this week to watch him in person.
It’s a big leap for a teenager from a small Saskatchewan town, but Jordy’s national sweep shows he belongs on the word stage.
“This is the biggest,” Sarah said “This is world’s stage type stuff. So it’s pretty big.”
St. Amant on the shooting line at the Canadian Outdoor National Championships. (Sarah St. Amant/Submitted)
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