10 May 2011 - Athlete of the Week: Brady ELLISON (USA)

Athlete of the Week: Brady ELLISON (USA) Lausanne – 10 May 2011  The reigning World Cup Final winner Brady ELLISON started the 2011 World Cup season as well as he finished the year before. At Stage 1 in Porec, Croatia last week, he won two gold medals in the men's individual and team events and silver in the mixed team competition. With such fantastic performances, he has been nominated the World Archery Athlete of the Week!   ELLISON has also been elected USA TODAY's Olympic Athlete of the Week.   Sovereign in the finals in Porec, ELLISON seemed even stronger than last year. His individual final was "maybe the best match I have ever shot," he said. He beat another great, young talent and already FITA Round world record holder, KIM Woojin (KOR). This victory certainly gives ELLISON even more reasons to pursue his dream of a Triple Crown: the World Cup Final, the World Championships and the Olympic Games.   In 2010 after winning the World Cup Stage 1 in Porec in individual and mixed team, he then finished 3rd in individual and 2nd in team and mixed team at Stage 2 in Antalya. At home in Ogden for Stage 3, he clinched gold in the team event. Qualified 1st for the World Cup Final in Edinburgh, he won the competition to become the 2010 World Cup winner! At the time he also won the Longines Prize for Precision as the recurve male athletes shooting the most 10s during the season.   At the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, ELLISON finished 15th after the ranking round. He faced John BURNES and beat the Canadian to advance to the second round where he was defeated by another Canadian Jay LYON. Together with Butch JOHNSON and Vic WUNDERLE he also took part in the team event. The Americans were seeded 10th after the ranking round but they lost in the first elimination round against Chinese Taipei.   On a recent article on USA TODAY, ELLISON said that "I kept his composure at the Beijing Games but learned he needed to do more homework on the stadium—the wind patterns, the noise, the overall atmosphere. That's exactly what my coach Mel NICHOLS and I intend to do at the Olympic Test Event in London in early October." They will take videos and thousands of pictures at every angle and then reconstruct the archery Olympic venue, the Lord’s Cricket Ground at the US training centre or even in his backyard, using sheets of fabric draped over the fences to create the scene and stereos to mimic the sounds. "If I have him shoot the Olympics 10,000 times here," NICHOLS said, "he'll be ready for London." Please find the complete article here.   ELLISON started shooting when he was a little boy, because his father was a hunter and he wanted to hunt with him. He then developed the hobby from there to the competition level. He first shot a compound bow for many years, but in 2005 he switched over to a recurve bow, as his ambition was to compete at the Olympic Games.   A couple of years ago, one of his first coaches died from cancer and ELLISON wanted to create an association to fight against this illness. In 2009 he started the campaign "Shoot for the Cure" to raise funds for the fight against breast cancer by pledging money for every 10 or X10 he shoots during the season and for every podium. He continues to do it in 2011. He ended up partnering with Susan G. KOMEN. Since he started the campaign, ELLISON shoots with a pink bow matching the pink wristbands he is selling for the cause at www.bradysshootforthecure.com.   Biography Extract:  Brady ELLISON (USA) – Born 27 October 1988  1st     Individual      World Cup Porec                                         2011 1st     Team           World Cup Porec                                         2011 2nd     Mixed Team  World Cup Porec                                         2011 1st     Individual      World Cup Final Edinburgh                            2010 1st     Individual      Pan American Championships Guadalajara        2010 1st     Team           Pan American Championships Guadalajara        2010 1st     Mixed Team   Pan American Championships Guadalajara        2010 1st     Team           World Cup Ogden                                        2010 1st     Individual      World Cup Porec                                         2010 1st     Team           World Cup Porec                                         2010 1st     Individual      Arizona Cup                                               2007, 2009, 2010   More results info on ELLISON and all other archers at www.worldarchery.org as well as his own webpage and Facebook.   World Archery Communication