Tuesday, August 24, 2010


Longest bow and arrow shot - world record set by Zak Crawford

  LONDON , UK -- Zak Crawford , 14, who dreamed of being Robin Hood, shot an arrow nearly 500 metres — equal to the length of five football pitches — using a recurve bow, in the senior under-35lb class, at the Northern Counties Flight Championships - setting the new world record for the Longest bow and arrow shot .

(enlarge photo )

   He broke the previous world record of 350 metres in senior category by using a recurve bow in the championship.

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

   Flight archery is all about shooting an arrow the longest distance. Record breaker teenager Crawford , who enjoyed watching Robin Hood films as a child, took up archery at the age of six after trying it at a fair.

Zak Crawford 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,” the youngster said.

   “I managed to get the technique right on the day and I couldn’t believe it when the arrows went so far,” he said.

    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.

    He started with target shooting but was later introduced to Flight Archery, which is based on the distance an arrow travels. Flight Archery is the oldest type of archery which does not involve a target. It is also referred to as the Formula 1 of the sport.

   "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," said Zak who undertakes extensive three-hour training at Welland Valley Archery Club every night, firing as many as 1,000 arrows each session.

    Crawford said he didn’t believe to push the arrows so far. He is keen to break his own record at sometime soon. “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 added.

    His grandfather Charles Wilson, who lives nearby in Corby and also does Flight Archery said he was very proud. 'He did brilliantly well. He totally destroyed the record,' he said.

    Though Flight Archery is not an Olympic sport, Zak hopes to try for the 2016 games in Rio De Janeiro in target shooting and is looking for sponsorship.

   Subscribe to our RSS News feed   to receive updates.   

   Related world records :
Fastest mile in a bomb suit - SSgt Owen Duff

Longest stationary bike riding - George Hood

Longest handcycle ride - Ryan Nichols

Longest swim in a lagoon - Mauro Giaconia

Youngest relay team to swim the English Channel -  English swimmers

Most miles paddled in 24 hours on Stand Up Paddle Board - Justin DeBree

Highest Skydive Landing - Jai Kishan, Wendy Smith and Mery Noonan

Tuesday, August 24, 2010