Archery at the 2024 Olympics has concluded, and it was thrilling to watch so many countries make history. With so many close matches and exciting finishes, we hope the Games inspired a new generation of archers to dream of making it to the Big Stage one day.
History was made at the 2024 Games not once, not twice, but five times! The Turkish men’s team took home their country’s first-ever team medal in any event, scoring the bronze. The Mexican women’s team won their country’s first-ever team archery medal, also a bronze. Korea’s men’s team medal made Kim Woojin the first male athlete of any sport to win three team gold medals. Woojin’s gold medal in the men’s individual archery event made him the most successful archer of all time. He now holds five gold medals, surpassing the previous record of four. USA’s Casey Kaufhold became the first American woman to medal in archery since 1988 with the bronze medal she won alongside Brady Ellison in the mixed team event. The team medal also earned Ellison a place in the record books. He became the first American archer to claim four Olympic medals. Ellison extended that record to five medals when he took home the silver against Woojin in the men’s individual gold medal match. The joy during these historic moments among competitors and observers alike was palpable, contagious, and heartwarming to watch.
Korea took home gold for the women’s team for the 10th straight Olympic Games in a wildly impressive, if unsurprising, final match. They have remained undefeated since the team event was introduced at the 1988 Games in their home country of South Korea. The Korean men’s team continued their domination as well, claiming their seventh gold medal since 1988. Lim Sihyeon took home the women’s individual archery gold medal, while her teammate Nam Suhyeon took home the silver. France’s Lisa Barbelin kept Korea from a podium sweep by beating Jeon Hunyoung in the bronze medal match. Kim Woojin secured the men’s individual archery gold medal, and his teammate Lee Wooseok took home the bronze medal after winning an impressive 6-0 shut-out against Germany’s Florian Unruh. USA’s Ellison blocked the Korean archers from a podium sweep in the men’s individual event.
In an absolute nail-biter, Eric Peters of Canada won his match against Dhiraj Bommadevara of India when it all came down to the final one-arrow shoot-off. Each archer landed a 10, but the Canadian’s arrow was 2.4 centimeters closer to the X. To put things in perspective, the 10-ring is only as wide as a CD!
USA’s Catalina GNoriega also competed in a shoot-off after she tied Indonesia’s Diananda Choirunisa in their Round of 16 match. GNoriega ultimately lost to Choirunisa when she landed an 8 against Choirunisa’s perfect 10.
The most nerve-wracking moment of the entire Olympic archery competition was the final shoot-off between Ellison and Woojin in the gold medal match. The archers traded set wins back and forth until they each scored a perfect 30 in the final set, tying the match. During the shoot-off, both archers landed their arrows in the 10-ring. Woojin edged out Ellison by just 3 millimeters!
Catalina GNoriega was one of only 22 archers from a pool of 128 men and women to shut out their opponent with a clean 6-0 sweep against Germany’s Katharina Bauer in her first match. After her narrow loss in the Round of 16, she finished in 17th place in the women’s individual archery event. Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez finished 33rd after a hard-fought match with Mexico’s Alejandra Valencia in the Round of 32. Mucino-Fernandez held her own, tying two of the four sets. Casey Kaufhold also finished 17th after beating Guinea’s Fatoumata Sylla in the Round of 32 and providing an exciting back-and-forth match with Chinese Taipei’s Lei Chien-ying in the Round of 16. The women’s team finished 9th after a 5-1 loss against Chinese Taipei in the first match.
The joy of winning and the agony of defeat were on full display during the Games, and it was wonderful to see so many archers show respect for each other after a match. The Games proved that archery can be as thrilling to watch as it is to participate in. If you were excited by the action this week, keep your eye on the 2028 Olympics, which will be held in Los Angeles.
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