Archery is a sport involving the use of bow and arrow. During ancient times, it was used as a tool for hunting and even for combat. However, the invention of modern weaponry rendered these bows and arrows obsolete. You can discover a compelling list of different Broadheads used as modern weaponry in 2020.

It was around 1844 that the first Grand National Archery Society held its first meeting. From then on, it became a prominent sport and recreation. By 1900, it has become an official sport in the Paris Olympics.

How Archery is Played

In competitive archery, the objective is very straightforward. You try to shoot the arrows as near to the center or the target as possible. The standard distance used in the Olympics is 70 meters.

Regardless of whether you are playing as an individual or part of a team, you will need a bow set that includes a handle or grip, a riser, and two flexible limbs following the description of the World Archery Federation.

However, it’s up to the archer how many strands their bowstring may need as long as the bow can handle them. When archers use compound bows, they may need the help of a bow trigger release. This allows for a single contact point on the strings that prevent them from deformity and also provides a steadier release.

The Most Notable Archers Who Played the Sport

 

Basketball has Lebron James, Stephen Curry, and Michael Jordan. Football has Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Neymar. Baseball has Babe Ruth, Mike Trout, and Clayton Kershaw. Boxing has Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., and Muhammad Ali. But you’ve probably never heard anyone as popular in the field of archery.

Nonetheless, there are those personalities that dominated the sports since its early days in the Olympics. Below are some of the most notable archery sports players in history.

  1. Kim Soo-Nyung

Kim Soo-Nyung is a South Korean archer and was part of the country’s archery team for the Olympic years of 1988, 1992, as well as 2000. Soo-Nyung had four different gold medals in the Olympics for the same years, which, in 1988, are composed of a single individual event and one each year participating in the team events.

She was also able to haul a bronze and a silver medal in individual events in 1992 and 2000, respectively. She was eventually hailed in 2011 by the International Archery Federation (FITA) as Female Archer of the 20th Century.

  1. Darrell Pace

Darrell Pace is a former archery representative of the United States in the Olympics. He was also the youngest member of the US team at the World Championships at the age of 16.

He won a total of 3 golds in the Olympics, which consist of one gold each for the individual events for the years 1976 and 1984. During the 1988 Olympics, he was able to win silver in the team event in Seoul.

  1. Park Sung-Hyun

Another South Korean in the list, Park Sung-Hyun was a former number one archer in her country and was a former world champion as well. She won a total of two golds for individual and team events in both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.

She has set a world record during the 2004 Athens Olympics in women’s event for the 70m 72-arrow round, scoring 682 that was unsurpassed until after 11 years. She also holds the world record for the most points in FITA round with 1405.

  1. Hubert Van Innis

This Belgian archer has racked up a total of six gold medals and three silvers in two Olympics years and 20 years apart at that; 1900 and 1920. So, in terms of the number of medals in the Olympics alone, he may be considered the best.

However, the only thing that hinders this bold proclamation is that he competed during the early times of the sports. At those times, there were no standardized rules yet, which makes it hard to compare athletes toe to toe.

  1. Yun Mi Jin

The third South Korean in this list won three Olympic gold medals in total. She collected one gold medal each for individual and team events in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and one in team events in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

She used to be number one in women’s recurve. Currently, she’s the record holder for her 173/180 in the 18-arrow category.

Parting Words

Archery may not be as popular as other sports, but with the help of athletes who excel in it, it slowly became quite well known to this day. Naysayers have said that it’s popularity is slowly dying, but it’s not really that hopeless as they have claimed. One thing that can help rebuild its prominence is by starting to introduce archery to kids instead of the popular ones they regularly see on TV or the internet.

Truth be told that most often than not, kids’ choice of sport is just an influence of their parents, friends, and relatives and not necessarily what they really like. They often really don’t know what they want until they get to know something. By letting them try archery, it can possibly lead to something as big as getting into the elite list of archers someday. One can only dream!