Archery siblings Eleanor and Louisa Piper aiming to hit Tokyo target

Eleanor, 21, and Louisa, 17, are two of the country's most exciting archery prospects, both sitting in contention for Team GB's reserve spot for the Olympic Games next year after Archery GB secured a full quota of qualification places in Japan.

Eleanor was part of the GB team who scooped silver at the Berlin 2018 Archery World Cup - Britain's maiden women's team medal for 11 years - while Louisa was crowned Under-21 European field archery champion in Slovenia last year.

Three male and three female archers will descend on Tokyo for Team GB and with both sisters in the reckoning for the women's reserve spot, confidence remains high that they can catapult themselves into contention.

"I'm competing for a reserve position and anything can happen in the next 15 months," Eleanor said.

"We don't know exactly what's going to happen so it's just about training and competing to the highest of my ability.

"My philosophy is that you can only do as much as you can within yourself, and you're better off focusing on yourself and being the best that you can rather than comparing yourself to others - that's going to get you the furthest."

Louisa added: "Tokyo is definitely my dream and always has been - you have to remain confident that you can go, and archery is so much about mental strength.

"It's about having the mental picture that you are going to the Olympics and going to do well there in order for that to happen.

"Tokyo is the next goal I'm working towards so I'm putting everything I can into that at the moment."

Both sisters honed their early archery skills at Woking Archery Club, with Eleanor going on to study at the University of Birmingham and now living in Telford alongside fellow archers Patrick Huston, Ryan Holden and Conor Hall.

The Archery GB setup train under the auspices of two-time Olympic bronze medallist Richard Priestman at Lilleshall, with Louisa still living back home in Pyford, Surrey but nevertheless receiving a recent session with the evergreen Seoul and Barcelona star when he travelled to Woking after lockdown.

Eleanor and Louisa's journeys have been continually intertwined, with their relationship at home characterised by a constant desire for improvement that's now placed them on the cusp of a potential stunning Games debut next summer.

It's that motivation to better each other that's fuelled their success and with one year to go until Tokyo, both sisters know just how special it would be to fly the British flag together on the biggest stage of all.

"Eleanor and I both have similar natures and are competitive when we shoot against each other," Louisa said.

"But at the same time we push each other forwards - if one of us is doing better than the other it makes the other want to work harder!

"I think that's what has made us reach these levels - we've both always tried to beat each other, over and over again, growing up!

"It would honestly be amazing to fly the British flag at an Olympics with my sister - after all the work, dedication and sacrifice that has gone in it would be absolutely amazing, and to be able to do it with my sister is the stuff of dreams.

Eleanor added: "We're really supportive of each other but with that competitive element, and have always encouraged each other as we made our way up the archery ladder.

"Representing Team GB alongside my sister would mean a lot to me."

Sportsbeat 2020