Australia’s Jonathon Milne breaks four para world records in 10 days
Australian para archer Jonathon Milne broke four world records in ten days in October, raising the marks for the 1440 round and the 36-arrow rounds at 70, 50 and 30 metres. All four records have now been ratified by World Archery.
On 11 October, Milne scored 1402 in the 1440 round at the 78th ANSW State Target Championships in Sydney, becoming the first para archer to break the 1400-point barrier.
The score surpassed his own world record, set in 2019.
“I knew I could be the first one to do it, I just needed the good conditions,” he said. “I probably should have broken it a long time ago, but no one really shoots FITAs [1440 Round] anymore.”
The New South Wales state championships and the Australian national championships offer the only annual opportunities to shoot the round in Australia.
“So only really two chances a year, and most of the time it’s pretty average weather,” added Milne. “Or you might get good weather at 90, and then it turns it on around 50 metres, and then it’s a write-off after that.”
His score of 355 at 70 metres also set a world record, breaking a mark established by Italy’s Alberto Simonelli in 2005.
Milne added two more records on 24 October at the Australian national championships in Hobart, Tasmania, shooting 354 at 50 metres and a perfect 360 with 24x at 30 metres. Both marks had stood since 2007. He also holds the world record at 90 metres, with a score of 344 set in 2023.
Asked about his recent run of form, the three-time Paralympian pointed to small technical adjustments.
“I’ve made a few little form changes and tweaked a few little things on the bow,” he said. “I shoot at Sydney Olympic Park, which was the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games venue. It’s got the nickname ‘The Wind Farm’ because it’s always windy.”
Despite his record-breaking run, Milne believes there is still room to improve.
“It makes me want to improve on them, because I know I left points out there,” he laughed.
Milne is also targeting LA28. If Australia secures a compound quota place, he could be in contention to represent his country as the discipline makes its Olympic debut. He continues to compete against able-bodied archers on the international circuit.
“I’ve never been the person that wants to go around telling everyone I’m the best, I just want to keep improving on myself,” Milne said. “I want to try and make sure that what I’m doing is perfect and working towards that.”
“When I go meet people, I don’t tell them that I’m a previous world champion, or I’ve won medals. I don’t even mention most of the time that I do archery. I don’t do it just so I can go around telling people what I’ve achieved; I do it because I enjoy it.”
