Lyon takes bronze at Pan Am Games

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This article was published 18/07/2015 (3935 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO — Maybe Jay Lyon should get in trouble with Archery Canada more often.

After his 2015 Pan American Games berth was put in jeopardy last month over harsh comments he made against the sport’s national governing body — to support a fellow archer he felt was discriminated against — the two sides sat down and patched up their differences just before the Games began in Toronto.

With that burden lifted off his broad shoulders, the 29-year-old from Winnipeg turned in one of the most stellar performances of his career Saturday, capturing a bronze medal with a dominant win over American Zach Garrett.

“I was definitely nervous. But I just stayed relaxed, I kept being aggressive with the shots. I probably looked very focused out there and it worked. It worked really well,” Lyon said moments after his match in which he hit the 12.2-centimetre bull’s-eye from 70 metres away six out of nine times (with the three other shots just fractionally outside it) to score 87 out of a maximum 90 points.

In contrast, Garrett only hit the bull’s-eye twice in scoring 80. In archery terms, it was a blowout.

Gold went to Mexican Luis Alvarez, who upset world No. 2 two Brady Ellison of the U.S.

Ellison beat Lyon, currently ranked 60th in the world, in the semifinals earlier Saturday.

Referring to the controversy that followed him to Toronto, Lyon insisted “it wasn’t really much of a distraction” when it came to his performance.

“It ended up working out where we understood there was some stuff that we needed to discuss and we’ve come to a mutual agreement where we’re going to continue to work together in the future, so I think having it settled as quickly as it did helped get me into a more positive mindset before this,” he said, adding his self-confidence was also bolstered by some encouraging messages from back home in Winnipeg.

“I had a fantastic call with my father last night. My parents have been my biggest supporters, my mom especially, and my girlfriend back home, she as well sent a beautiful message this morning, so I can’t thank them enough for that.

“They definitely get a share of this medal with me,” said the University of Winnipeg kinesiology graduate, who in daily training shoots 200 to 400 arrows.

He’s a hockey goaltender in the winter months when he takes a bit of a break from the bows and arrows.

Lyon said he was overwhelmed by the support of the hometown crowd at these Games and had never experienced anything like it.

The venue was the University of Toronto’s football stadium, and it was practically sold out with most people there cheering loudly for him and waving Canadian flags.

“I honestly didn’t expect it to be that crazy, but it was fantastic. I absolutely loved it. The crowd was great and I couldn’t be more thankful,” he said.

Lyon, who finished 10th at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and fifth at the 2011 world championships, said the only other achievement in his career that rivals this one is the silver medal he won at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

He is now hoping to reach a new high point, as he soon heads to Copenhagen, Denmark, for the world championships that begin July 26.

Lyon said his goal in Toronto was to reach the podium. And now that he has accomplished it, he’s full of confidence to take aim at a top-three finish at worlds and help the national team secure a spot among the top eight, which would earn the Canadian men three berths at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“There was strong competition here,” he said.

“Brady Ellison, Zach Garrett are two of the best in the world. I got terrific experience from competing against them and I think it’s going to pay off at the world championships.”