GREAT Britain archery star Thea Rogers has Spanish gold in her sights this month as the talented teenager gears up for another crack at the World Youth Championships.

The 17-year-old from Cwmbran would love an upgrade on the women’s recurve cadet team bronze she won alongside Louisa Piper and Alyssia Tromans-Ansell in Argentina two years ago.

Madrid is the venue for this year’s event, which runs from August 19-25, and there are high hopes for the 24-strong British party travelling to Spain.

St Alban’s RC High School A-level student Rogers, who will also go for glory in the individual competition, and Piper are joined by Penny Healey for the women’s team discipline.

And the trio are in good form having collected a bronze medal in the second leg of the European Youth Cup in Romania just last month.

Looking ahead to Madrid, Rogers said: “Pretty much everyone in the world is going to be in Madrid.

“The Korean archers are very good, but if we do what we do then I think we’ll have a chance.

“When we came back from Romania we looked at what the weather was like in Madrid and it was around 38C – and they haven’t reached the peak of their summer yet.

“But we’ve all been shooting well and things are good, so we’re going for gold this time!”

Rogers is in very good hands in the GB set-up, coaches Naomi Folkard and Larry Godfrey have been to seven Olympic Games between them.

Folkard earned Team GB a place at next year’s Games in Tokyo, which may come a little too soon for Rogers, but the Olympics are definitely on her radar.

“My coach got one of the places for 2020 so I’m rooting for her to go,” added Rogers.

“The next one is 2024 in Paris and then Los Angeles four years later, so I’ll be going for those, that’s the big goal for me.”

Before that, Rogers, who moves up from cadet to junior level when she turns 18 next May, is targeting the National Tour Final, which this year is held at a venue very close to home.

Caldicot Castle is set to welcome Britain’s best archers on the weekend of September 28-29, and this week Rogers got the chance to shoot on the hallowed turf inside the castle walls.

“Hopefully I’ll be involved in the National Tour Final,” she said. “It would be good if I was.

“It’s really nice that we’ve got archery closer to home because it’s two-and-a-half to three hours to Lilleshall just to train.

“It’s great to have the venue for the event inside the castle. Obviously, it isn’t where Robin Hood was from, but shooting inside a castle is like going back to those times.”

Entry to the event is free and, as well as music, food and drink being on offer, those attending will have the opportunity to meet the archers and have a go at the sport themselves.

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