At the University of Bristol, the 24-year-old began with recurve but struggled with the sight, while qualification scores for the British University Sports Championships were significantly higher. She was advised to try barebow – and hasn’t looked back since.
On only her second appearance at the tournament – after finishing seventh in 2024 – Knibb won the British Indoor Championships in December and placed second at the prestigious Kings of Archery Series this indoor season out of 47 competitors.
Great Britain’s barebow archers are currently self-funded, meaning Knibb’s trip to Bulgaria was not guaranteed despite her selection.
However, confidence from her second-place finish at the Kings of Archery Series and victory at the national indoor championships, along with a highly successful GoFundMe campaign widely shared by her employer Network Rail, helped secure her participation at one of the biggest indoor tournaments of the season.
Knibb said encouragement from a friend after her Kings of Archery result helped shift her mindset heading into the national championships.
She explained that something “just clicked” during the event, as she progressed through difficult head-to-head matches, including one against a 14-year-old opponent that required consistently high scoring.
“Then everything just aligned. The shooting felt good, people were supportive, and somehow I made it through and won,” she said.
