The night Noah bowled over a Goliath

While David – an underdog whose heroics are recorded in the Bible’s Old Testament – used a sling shot and rock to bowl over the giant Goliath, 13-year-old Para athlete Noah Ayres used an arrow to humble an Olympic archer in their one-on-one duel.

The six week NSWIS Para Transition Program (sport sampling) sessions that ran during last September and October steered some incredible athletic talent into Para-sport pathways, but one of the most wholesome moments was the night 13-year-old Noah duelled with Peter Boukouvalas, Australia’s sole male archery representative at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and ‘coach’ at this particular Para Uplift session.

After both competitors missed their target by millimetres, the pressure was on young Noah as he took aim for the last shot of the contest. 

Though, rather than allowing himself to be weighed down by knowing everyone’s attention was fixed firmly on him, Noah set his eyes on the target – a plastic green ball suspended in mid-air by a fan – and he pulled the bow’s string back towards him . . .

“This is a proper competition now,” said NSWIS Para Transition coach Ben Senior, breaking the tension.

With that, Noah’s fired his arrow straight ‘n true. He not only took out the green ball but sealed the unofficial title as the Para Transition’s ‘David’ for flooring a sporting giant. And while he raised his arm in triumph to the chewers of the crowd, Noah paid tribute to Boukouvalas.

“He was going easy one me,” said Noah, as Boukouvalas – who at Paris’s Esplanade des Invalides with its stunning views of the Eiffel tower during the last Olympic Games – listened as Noah revealed his only prior archery experience was firing off a few arrows at a school camp.

“No, I’ll cop it fair ‘n square,” said the Olympian as he hosed down any suggestion he went easy. “I don’t like losing, but I’m OK losing to you – you did very well.

“You were very consistent, and being consistent is the trick to archery. Though, there’s two sides to that: being consistent and knowing when to adjust and actively doing so. Do that and you’ll do well.”

Paul Nunnari, NSWIS’s Para Transition Lead coach and a Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games silver medallist, was also keen for Noah to realise his triumph was both hard earned and well deserved.

“You did so well,” said Nunnari.  “And it wasn’t a fluke, Noah – you hit it!’

Despite his giant-slaying performance, Noah ultimately decided to sign on to try Para-table tennis. However, no matter where sport might take this dead-eyed teenager, he’ll always be able to tell the tale of the night he defeated an Olympian -and decent bloke – in a duel.

NSWIS Para Transition program

• The 2025 NSWIS Para Transition Program spanned six weeks, allowing over 40 Para athletes to sample a variety of sports to see which discipline they’re best suited to.
• The invited athletes were exposed to a range of Para-sports, as well as the basics of strength and conditioning, wellbeing and recovery principles, and the classification process.
• NSWIS staff partnered with elite athletes and coaches from sports including sitting volleyball, goalball, Para-powerlifting, Para-shooting, Para-archery and more, to provide an inclusive and educational experience. 
• 10 athletes have progressed to pathway programs where the hope is they’ll represent Australia at the Brisbane 2032 Paralympic Games
• The NSWIS Para Transition Program will return in 2026, starting in the Hunter next month, and interested parties should monitor the NSWIS website and social media channels for information.

Daniel Lane, NSWIS