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Happiest Mum In Rio Sees Son Win First Aussie Medal Of 2016 Olympics

So exciting. Just so exciting.
Tricia Davis, the mum of Aussie archer Taylor Worth is ecstatic.
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Tricia Davis, the mum of Aussie archer Taylor Worth is ecstatic.

Australia has won its first medal of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, and wow, how excited were the athletes and their families in the stands.

The medal was in the men's team archery -- the first archery teams medal Australia has ever won at any Olympics, and our first Olympic medal in the sport of Archery since 2004. The team was comprised of Ryan Tyack, Alec Potts and Taylor Worth. Onya, fellas.

No one was more excited than Tricia Davis, the mum of archer Taylor Worth.

Oh gosh, is he going to do this...?
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Oh gosh, is he going to do this...?

She sat bathed in late afternoon Rio sunshine with Christ the Redeemer on the mountain above, seemingly urging her son and his teammates to victory in the bronze medal playoff win over China.

I think he might...
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I think he might...

The Redeemer was on her side. Australia beat China with ease.

"I came to watch my boy on the podium and he's done it. I can't believe it," Davis told The Huffington Post Australia, who sat beside her for the whole playoff.

He did! Woohoo!
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He did! Woohoo!

"I nearly fainted with all the adrenaline running through me."

Which is the opposite of what the Aussies did as the competition unfolded. After qualifying for the knockout round in fourth place in the rankings, Australia just squeaked past France in the quarter finals. They then came up against Korea in the semis.

Uh-oh. Korean archer Kim Woojin had just shot a world record in the men's individual ranking round. Unsurprisingly they beat the Aussies (though not by much), and went on to win the gold medal against the USA in the final.

"We didn't shoot badly in the semi but they shot better," Worth said. The fact they shot well gave the Aussie team confidence for the bronze playoff. They knew they just had to keep their cool. And Taylor Worth and friends are very good at that.

"He is a very cool and calm," Worth's mum said. "I'm so proud of the man he's grown into. I'm very proud of all three of them, they've done a fantastic job."

Cool, calm and so very Taylor Worth.
Yves Herman / Reuters
Cool, calm and so very Taylor Worth.

"It's a start," was Worth's measured response when your correspondent asked him what he'd say to his mother in response to her words of love and pride. Worth still has the individual event ahead of him, so he can't afford to celebrate too much now.

"What we had to achieve was to replicate normal shots in training. If we could do that here, then anything's possible. We walk away with a medal which is fantastic for us as a group," he said.

Huffington Post Australia readers might recall we did a pre-Olympic feature on Taylor Worth a little earlier this year. We were so impressed by him. Get this. He has gone to bed at 9 pm every night for the last four years. Why? Because he's one seriously disciplined young man.

Here's what he told us back then:

I try to make everything count, even singing the national anthem with pride. If I'm about to eat something I'm like 'is this going to help me win me a gold medal?' Am I gong to stay up and watch that extra movie. Is that going to help me win a medal?

So here's a guy who literally doesn't waste a minute of his life in case a guy on another team somewhere in the world is more disciplined than him, and discipline helps that other guy win a medal.

Well guess what? Today all that discipline paid off. Taylor worth has got his medal. Good for him. Australia is on its merry way in Rio. And one proud mum just had her trip to the other side of the world well and truly justified.

Left to right, that's Alec Potts, Ryan Tyack and Taylor Worth. Onya, boys. Oi! Oi! Oi!
Getty Images
Left to right, that's Alec Potts, Ryan Tyack and Taylor Worth. Onya, boys. Oi! Oi! Oi!

"He's taken me to India [with his archery], to London and he's brought me to Brazil, I'm riding his coat tails. It's a dream."

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