Team GB’s third gold of the 2023 European Games arrived at the Plaszowianka Archery Park on Saturday courtesy of Penny Healey, Jaspreet Sagoo and Bryony Pitman.
The trio’s triumph in the women’s team ensured the title stayed in British hands, Pitman having joined forces with Sarah Bettles and Naomi Folkard to take top spot on the podium in Minsk four years ago.
This time around, France were beaten 5-1 in a gold medal match which saw victory wrapped up with a set to spare, Denmark and Italy having earlier been overcome in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively.
Healey, Sagoo and Pitman will all hope for further success in the individual recurve in the coming days but before then, let’s get to know the archers making waves on the international circuit.
Penny Healey
Healey was inspired to give archery a go after watching ‘Brave,’ the 2012 flick in which Merida, an independent archer, lifts an ancient curse using her bow.
A keen horserider growing up, Healey has thrived since switching sports and occupied the number one spot in the world rankings earlier this year following World Cup success in Antalya.
Away from the range, Healey is kept busy by the pet emus which have been part of the family home since lockdown.
Jaspreet Sagoo
Sagoo, who also goes by Jess, hails from London’s East End and found archery at the age of 16, having played netball and basketball as a child.
Now based just outside Cambridge, Sagoo joined Healey and Pitman in earning women’s team World Cup gold in Antalya last year – Britain’s first since 2018 – and has now marked her European Games bow with another triumph.
She is also described by Healey as the best dancer among a close-knit trio who love nothing more than using their time between competing to nail TikTok trends, while they have each other’s back when the heat is on.
@jessicasagoo ♬ original sound - Jessica Sagoo
“Even if one of us did a bad shot we bounced straight back,” Sagoo said after gold in Krakow.
“We helped each other. That was what we needed to do and we did it.”
Bryony Pitman
Introduced to the sport by her father, who also represented Great Britain, Pitman was born and raised in Shoreham-by-Sea and learned her trade at Worthing Archery Club.
She landed Britain's first individual recurve World Cup medal for a decade with gold in Antalya in October 2022, also leading the women's team to victory.
A history graduate, Pitman later balanced completing a humanities degree at Brunel University with preparations for her Olympic debut in Tokyo – at which she finished ninth in the individual event.
On becoming a European Games champion for a second time, she said: “It’s amazing.
“I’m the last one standing of the team from four years ago, so to come out here and win it again with a new team shows the new talent that we have in the UK. It’s an incredible feeling.”