Camerin Pickering shot a new Bermuda record on the opening day of competition at the Pan American Championships in Medellin, Colombia on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old archer produced a score of 646 from a possible 720 during the individual qualifying round in the men’s recurve, eclipsing his previous national record of 644 achieved at last year’s Paris Archery World Cup

“I had a really great result today in the Pan Am Championships qualifying round. I managed to finish with a score of 646/720 and my final position was 28 out of 58 archers,” Pickering told The Royal Gazette.

“I have set a new Bermuda national record, beating my previous score of 644/720.

“Based on my finishing position, I had a bye and felt really solid going into my 1/24 individual match. I won that match 6 to 2 and the next round will take place on Friday.”

Pickering’s record-breaking exploits arrived fresh on the heels of an equally impressive display in the Continental Qualifier of the Americas in Colombia this week.

The athlete was within two wins of securing a spot at this summer’s Paris Olympic Games in the men’s recurve individual qualifier but ultimately came up short after losing to third seed Oscar Ticas of El Salvador 6-4 in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Despite missing out, the Bermudian’s impressive display has boosted his confidence.

“The Continental Qualifier was the start I needed and my performance continues to build in momentum,” added Pickering, whose previous best at the Archery World Cup Stage 4 event in Paris last August met the Olympic minimum qualifying score.

Pickering, who also claimed gold in the men’s recurve senior division at the Fall Harvest Star FITA tournament in Lancaster, Pennsylvania last November, is being accompanied in the South American country by team-mates Bernard Wade and Jaydon Roberts, who both stumbled at the first hurdle after losing their qualifying matches at the ongoing Pan American Championships.

Wade bowed out with a score of 579 and Roberts, the youngest of the trio flying the island’s banner in Colombia at the age of 18, scoring 597.

Bermuda’s archers are competing for one of the ten Olympic spots up for grabs at the event, with six being awarded to the eventual team winners.

Pickering, Wade and Roberts will attempt to make inroads towards their qualifying objective when they return to the target range to face rivals Chile in the recurve team event on Thursday.

Bermuda are ranked tenth among the eleven countries in the team competition.

The island’s archers are being accompanied by head coach Ross Roberts and assistant coach Trina Roberts, who are both pleased with the progress to date.

“We are very pleased with the performance of this men’s recurve team,” Trina said. “They are up against some of the best in the world, Olympic champions, world champions, and they are holding their own.

“Really pleased with their performances today and looking forward to the team event tomorrow.”

Pickering said he and his fellow colleagues are confident of producing a good showing.

“Collectively, as a team, the chances of match wins are definitely there,” he added.

“We are feeling confident going into the team rounds tomorrow and will be working towards a good performance.”

The final Olympic qualification tournament will be held in Turkey in June. Remaining quota slots will then be allocated to the host nation and other countries based on team world rankings in June.