Glendale man aims for the gold

Brady Ellison will have his own personal cheering section when he competes at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

The 19-year-old Glendale resident's family will fly Tuesday to China to watch him compete in the international games for archery. Ellison is the No. 1-ranked archer in the United States and No. 14 in the world.

"It's been an amazing journey," said Julie Nichols, Ellison's mother. "I thought he would be ready for the 2012 Olympics in London, but I never imagined that it would come this fast, so I'm very happy all the hard work paid off."

Nichols said her son left for Beijing July 26 with the U.S. Olympic archery team.

"He says the country is amazing along with the Olympic Village," she said.

There are five members of the U.S. Olympic archery team, and Ellison is the youngest.

"Getting to this point has taken a lot. He's put so much time and effort into the sport that I knew it would happen," she said.

The teen was first interested in archery when he went hunting with his father. He eventually switched to target archery and entered competitions on the local level before taking part in regional and international events.

Ellison has worked with a number of coaches over the years, including his stepfather, Mel Nichols.

"Brady has been to more countries in his lifetime than most kids have," Mel Nichols said.

Last year, Ellison decided to try out for the 2008 Olympics and began training at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.

When he competed in the Olympic trials, he won all three of the events, making him a member of the team whose oldest competitor is 52.

Bow and archery companies, Matthews Inc. and Easton Archery, are among Ellison's sponsors.

Since being named to the Olympic team, Ellison also has garnered a lot of attention in several national publications, including a fashion shoot for Vibe magazine.

"They gave him a haircut, applied some makeup and put on a $900 Ralph Lauren jacket. He was excited about it all," Julie Nichols said.

Even though Ellison trains at the Olympic center, he also comes home and works with his stepfather.

Julie Nichols, an accounting clerk at Arrowhead Elementary School, said she will miss the first week of school to watch Ellison compete. She will be accompanied on the trip by her husband and both sets of their parents.

"His events are double-elimination contests, so hopefully he'll stick in there to the end or we'll be sightseeing in China a little more," she said.