Archery has never figured all that heavily in Olympic opening ceremonies except for that one time in Barcelona when the 1992 Games cauldron was lit by a flaming arrow.

But in Sydney last night, the Australian Olympic Committee’s aim was true when they chose Mapleton’s 17-year-old world champion archer Ryan Tyack to be Australian flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Fifth Australian Youth Olympic Festival.

One of his proudest sporting moments came at the Sydney Entertainment Centre as part of the welcoming of international sporting teams before the start of competition today.

“I was really happy when I got the phone call from the IOC asking me to do it. It is a great privilege to lead out so many sports people who are representing their country,” said Tyack who almost always is able to keep his emotions in check when he needs to be bang on target.

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Mapleton archer honoured