David's Story
Fast Facts
Sport: Archery
Event: Men's Individual, Men's Team
Olympic History: Athens 2004, Tokyo 2020
Year Born: 1986
State Born: South Australia
About David
David Barnes began Archery in 1995 as a nine-year-old. As a kid he loved target practice and ended up getting a fibreglass bow which he could shoot at home.
Eventually his parents suggested he join a club and when he was just 13, David was invited to represent Australia.
In 2003 he competed at a Sydney Olympic test event and the Australian Youth Olympic Festival, winning two gold. In the World Championships he claimed an individual silver and an overall Australian team win.
The following year the South Australian made his Olympic debut as an 18-year-old when he competed at Athens 2004.
He placed 36th in the individual competition and 6th alongside his Aussie teammates in the teams event.
In 2007 the then-21-year-old gave up the sport altogether, wanting to focus on "living a normal life, getting married, having kids and starting a business."
After achieving those aspirations, and it being a decade since he left the sport, Barnes had a light bulb moment.
"Archery is something I said I would always come back to, and I knew it was my time to have my crack again."
David made that decision in 2017 and linked up with coach and Sydney 2000 gold medallist Simon Fairweather.
Since David's returned he won silver and bronze World Cup medals and secured a spot for Tokyo 2020 while juggling training, running a gym equipment business and raising two children.
His selection for Tokyo 2020 came 16 years after his Olympic debut, equalling the second-longest break between Olympics by an Australian athlete.
David started Tokyo 2020 with the men's team event alongside Taylor Worth and Ryan Tyack.
They scored a strong 58 points to take an early lead 2-0 over Chinese Taipei. However the match came down to a deciding shoot-off which Chinese Taipei won by one point, and they went on to become the silver medallists.
In the men's individual event David finished 33rd.
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