Archery at the Summer Olympics

Archery had its debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics and has been contested in 16 Olympiads. Eighty-four nations have competed in the Olympic archery events, with France appearing the most often at 31 times. The most noticeable trend has been the excellence of South Korean archers, who have won 23 out of 34 gold medals in events since 1984. It is governed by the World Archery Federation (WA; formerly FITA). Recurve archery is the only discipline of archery featured at the Olympic Games. Archery is also an event at the Summer Paralympics.

Archery at the Summer Olympics
Governing body	WA
Events	5 (men: 2; women: 2; mixed: 1)
Games
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
Medalists Records

History

The second Olympic games, Paris 1900, saw the first appearance of archery. Seven disciplines in varying distances were contested. At the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, six archery events were contested, of which three were men's and three were women's competitions. Team archery was introduced, as was women's archery. At the 1908 Summer Olympics, three archery events were held. Archery was not featured at the 1912 Summer Olympics but reappeared in the 1920 Summer Olympics.

Between 1920 and 1972, archery was not contested at the Olympic games. The archery competition featured at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich consisted of a double FITA Round (from 2014 known as a '1440 Round') competition with two events: men's individual and women's individual. This form of archery competition was held until the 1988 Summer Olympics, when team competition was added and the Grand FITA Round format was used. Starting at the 1992 Summer Olympics, the Olympic Round with head-to-head matches was adopted and has been used ever since.

In 1984 at Los Angeles, Neroli Fairhall of New Zealand was the first paraplegic competitor in the Olympic Games.

Medal tables

1900–1920

This table includes archery competitions in 1900, 1904, 1908, and 1920. These four years preceded the modern, standardized archery competition under the rules of the World Archery Federation.[1] They were contested by three nations at most in any given year, and were dominated by home nations in both the number of participants and number of medals won. The nations that competed during that period were France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and the United States. In some events in Antwerp (1920) bronze medals were not awarded.[2][3]

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Belgium (BEL)	11	6	3	20
2	United States (USA)	6	6	6	18
3	France (FRA)	5	10	6	21
4	Great Britain (GBR)	2	2	1	5
5	Netherlands (NED)	1	0	0	1
Totals (5 nations)		25	24	16	65

From 1972

1972 marked the beginning of the modern archery competition at the Olympic Games. The events began to use standardized forms and many nations competed.[1]

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	South Korea	23	9	7	39
2	United States	8	5	3	16
3	Italy	2	2	3	7
4	China	1	6	2	9
5	Soviet Union	1	3	3	7
6	Finland	1	1	2	4
	Ukraine	1	1	2	4
8	France	1	1	1	3
9	Australia	1	0	2	3
10	Spain	1	0	0	1
11	Japan	0	3	2	5
12	Germany	0	2	1	3
13	Sweden	0	2	0	2
14	Chinese Taipei	0	1	2	3
15	Mexico	0	1	1	2
	Poland	0	1	1	2
	Russia	0	1	1	2
18	Indonesia	0	1	0	1
19	Great Britain	0	0	4	4
20	Unified Team	0	0	2	2
21	Netherlands	0	0	1	1
Totals (21 nations)		40	40	40	120

All years

This table includes archery competitions in 1900, 1904, 1908, and 1920 in addition to the ones from 1972 on, which are shown above.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	South Korea (KOR)	23	9	7	39
2	United States (USA)	14	11	9	34
3	Belgium (BEL)	11	6	3	20
4	France (FRA)	6	11	7	24
5	Great Britain (GBR)	2	2	5	9
6	Italy (ITA)	2	2	3	7
7	China (CHN)	1	6	2	9
8	Soviet Union (URS)	1	3	3	7
9	Finland (FIN)	1	1	2	4
	Ukraine (UKR)	1	1	2	4
11	Australia (AUS)	1	0	2	3
12	Netherlands (NED)	1	0	1	2
13	Spain (ESP)	1	0	0	1
14	Japan (JPN)	0	3	2	5
15	Germany (GER)	0	2	1	3
16	Sweden (SWE)	0	2	0	2
17	Chinese Taipei (TPE)	0	1	2	3
18	Mexico (MEX)	0	1	1	2
	Poland (POL)	0	1	1	2
	Russia (RUS)	0	1	1	2
21	Indonesia (INA)	0	1	0	1
22	Unified Team (EUN)	0	0	2	2
Totals (22 nations)		65	64	56	185

Qualification

Qualification spots in archery are allotted to National Olympic Committees rather than to individual athletes. There is no minimum age for an Olympic archer. There are two ways an NOC may earn qualification spots: by team or by individual. For each gender, an NOC that earns a team qualification spot may send three archers to compete in that team event; each archer also competes in the individual competition. NOCs that earn individual qualification spots are limited to a single entry in the individual event.

For each gender, there are 12 team qualification spots: the host nation, the top 8 teams at the World Archery Championships, and the top 3 teams at the Final World Team Qualification Tournament.[4]

In addition to the 36 entries awarded through team qualification, an additional 28 individual qualification spots are available for each gender, bringing the total number of competitors in each individual event to 64.

Qualification for the mixed team event is done through the ranking round at the Olympics.

2012

For 2012, the qualification rules were adjusted slightly. The host nation continued to receive three spots, as did the top eight teams at the World Championship. However, only 8 further individuals qualified through the individual placement at the World Championship. The continental tournaments received unbalanced allocations, with Africa and Oceania receiving only two qualification spots to the other continents' three. The Tripartite Commission retained its three selections. The remaining 13 spots were decided by Final Qualification Tournaments. Three additional team spots (9 individual spots) were allocated through the Final Qualification team event, and the last 4 spots through the Final Qualification individual tournament. If any of the NOCs qualifying through Final Qualification had already earned an individual spot, one more spot as added to the individual Final Qualification quota.[5]

2016

Africa received 3 qualification spots in the continental tournaments, leaving Oceania as the only continent to receive 2 spots rather than 3.

2020

For the 2020 Olympics, the five Continental Games were added to the qualification pathway. The winning NOC in the mixed team event at each of the five receives one allocation spot per gender; there is also one quota spot per gender for the individual event winners at the Asian, European, and Pan American Games. The World Championship allocation was reduced to 4 per gender and the Tripartite Commission allocation was reduced to 2 per gender. The European continental tournament received an additional spot (up to 4) at the expense of Oceania (down to 1) and Africa (down to 2). The base allocation for the final individual qualification tournament was reduced to only 1 per gender, though this tournament also reallocates unused quota spots.

Competition

From 1988 through 2016, Olympic archery consisted of four medal events: men's individual, women's individual, men's team, and women's team. The mixed team event is being added in 2020. In all five events, the distance from the archer to the target is 70 meters.

Individual

In the individual competitions, 64 archers compete. The competition begins with the ranking round. Each archer shoots 72 arrows (in six ends, or groups, of 12 arrows). They are then ranked by score to determine their seeding for the single-elimination bracket. After this, final rankings for each archer are determined by the archer's score in the round in which the archer was defeated, with the archers defeated in the first round being ranked 33rd through 64th.

Pre-2008

The first elimination round pits the first ranked archer against the sixty-fourth, the second against the sixty-third, and so on. In this match as well as the second and third, the archers shoot simultaneously 18 arrows in ends of 3 arrows. The archer with the higher score after 18 arrows moves on to the next round while the loser is eliminated.

After three such rounds, there are 8 archers remaining. The remaining three rounds (quarterfinals, semifinals, and medal matches) are referred to as the finals rounds. They consist of each archer shooting 12 arrows, again in ends of 3 arrows. The two archers in the match alternate by arrow instead of shooting their arrows simultaneously as in the first three rounds. The losers of the quarterfinals are eliminated, while the losers of the semifinals play each other to determine the bronze medal and fourth place. The two archers who are undefeated through the semifinals face each other in the gold medal match, in which the winner takes the gold medal while the loser receives the silver medal.

2008 changes

All matches in 2008 were in the previous finals round format, using 12 arrow matches. Archers alternated shooting by arrow.

2012 changes

The individual match system was completely overhauled for the 2012 Olympics, though the single elimination with bronze medal match format was retained. The matches now consisted of sets. Each set comprised both archers shooting three arrows. The archer with the best score in the set received two points; if the set was drawn, each archer received one point. The match would continue until one archer reached six points. If the match was tied after five sets, a single arrow shoot-off was held with the closest arrow to center winning.[6]

Team

The team event uses the results of the same ranking round as the individual competition to determine seeding for the teams. The team's three individual archers' scores are summed to get a team ranking round score. The competition thereafter is a single-elimination bracket, with the top 4 teams receiving a bye into the quarterfinals. The semifinal losers face each other in the bronze medal match. The set format from the individual competition was not used in 2012, but was used beginning in 2016.[7] In team matches prior to 2016, each archer shot 8 arrows, with the best overall team score (for the total of 24 arrows) winning the match. Beginning with 2016, the set format (with each archer shooting two arrows per set for a total of six arrows per team per set) is used.

Mixed team

The mixed team competition uses the results of the ranking round to both qualify and seed teams. Each of the 16 teams that compete consist of one man and one woman.

Events

Early Games

Early Olympic archery competitions had events that were unique for each of the Games.

1900	1904	1908	1912	1920
6 events, men only	6 events, men and women	3 events, men and women	not held	10 events, men only
Au Cordon Doré, 50 metres Au Cordon Doré, 33 metres Au Chapelet, 50 metres Au Chapelet, 33 metres Sur la Perche à la Herse Sur la Perche à la Pyramide	Team round, men Team round, women Double American round, men Double Columbia round, women Double National round, women Double York round, men	Double National round, women Double York round, men Continental style, men		Individual fixed large bird Individual fixed small bird Individual moving bird, 50 metres Individual moving bird, 33 metres Individual moving bird, 28 metres Team fixed large bird Team fixed small bird Team moving bird, 50 metres Team moving bird, 33 metres Team moving bird, 28 metres

Modern Games

Current program
Event	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Men's individual	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	13
Men's team	–	–	–	–	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	9
Women's individual	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	13
Women's team	–	–	–	–	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	9
Mixed team	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	X	1
Events	2	2	2	2	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	45

Participating nations

The following nations have taken part in the Archery competition.

96		In the table headings, indicates the Games year, from 1896 to 2012
3		Number of archers participated in the specified Games
		Archery not competed in these years
		Host nation for the specified Games
		NOC did not compete in Games or was superseded or preceded by other NOC(s) during these years

Event	00	04	08	20	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	Years
Argentina (ARG)									2								1
Australia (AUS)			ANZ		3	4	3	2	3	3	5	6	6	5	2	4	12
Austria (AUT)						1	1	1								1	4
Azerbaijan (AZE)	Russian Empire			Soviet Union						EUN						1	1
Bangladesh (BAN)															1	1	2
Belarus (BLR)	Russian Empire			Soviet Union						EUN	2	2	2	2	1	1	6
Belgium (BEL)	18			14	3	2	2	5	3	1	1	1				1	11
Bhutan (BHU)								6	3	6	2	2	2	2	1	1	9
Brazil (BRA)							2	1	2	2				1	1	6	7
Bulgaria (BUL)							2			1	1		1	1	1		6
Canada (CAN)					6	4		3	4	3	3	1	2	4	2	2	11
Central African Republic (CAF)												1					1
Chile (CHI)												1			1	1	3
China (CHN)								6	6	6	6	6	5	6	6	6	9
Chinese Taipei (TPE)					1			2	6	3	6	3	6	6	6	6	10
Colombia (COL)								1		1				3	2	4	5
Costa Rica (CRC)						2	2			1							3
Cuba (CUB)												4	1	1	1	1	5
Cyprus (CYP)										1				1			2
Czech Republic (CZE)	Bohemia			Czechoslovakia										2			1
Czechoslovakia (TCH)							3			1							2
Denmark (DEN)					4	1			3	3		1	1	2	3		8
Dominican Republic (DOM)																1	1
Egypt (EGY)												1	4	2	2	2	5
El Salvador (ESA)												1	1				2
Estonia (EST)	Russian Empire				Soviet Union					1	1				1	1	4
Fiji (FIJ)													1		1	1	3
Finland (FIN)					3	2	4	5	6	3	3	3	1	1		2	11
France (FRA)	129		15	8	5	2		2	6	6	4	5	6	5	4	3	14
Georgia (GEO)	Russian Empire			Soviet Union						EUN	1	3	2	2	1	3	6
Germany (GER)										6	3	4	4	2	2	2	7
West Germany (FRG)	Germany				4	3		5	6	Germany							4
Great Britain (GBR)			41		6	4	4	6	6	6	3	3	4	6	6	2	13
Greece (GRE)												1	6	2	1	1	5
Guam (GUM)										1							1
Hong Kong (HKG)								6	3	1					1		4
Hungary (HUN)					2		4			3	2						4
India (IND)									3	3	2		6	4	6	4	7
Indonesia (INA)					1	2		2	4	4	3	1	2	2	1	4	11
Iran (IRI)														2	2	1	3
Iraq (IRQ)															1		1
Ireland (IRL)						1	3	2	3	1	1						6
Italy (ITA)					3	4	3	3	3	4	6	6	4	6	6	6	12
Ivory Coast (CIV)															1	1	2
Japan (JPN)					4	4		5	6	6	5	5	6	5	6	4	11
Jordan (JOR)									1								1
Kazakhstan (KAZ)	Russian Empire			Soviet Union						EUN	6	4	3	1	2	2	6
Kenya (KEN)											2	1				1	3
North Korea (PRK)						2	3			3		1		2	1	1	7
South Korea (KOR)					3			6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	10
Laos (LAO)													1				1
Libya (LBA)																1	1
Luxembourg (LUX)					2		1	3	1	1			1		1		6
Malawi (MAW)																1	1
Malaysia (MAS)													1	3	4	3	4
Malta (MLT)							2	1	1								3
Mauritius (MRI)												1	1	1			3
Mexico (MEX)					6			2	4	4	3	2	3	4	6	4	10
Moldova (MDA)	Russian Empire			ROU	Soviet Union					EUN	1				1	1	3
Monaco (MON)								1	1								2
Mongolia (MGL)					3	4	4		3	1	1				2	1	7
Morocco (MAR)														1			1
Myanmar (MYA)												1	1	1	1	1	5
Nepal (NEP)																1	1
Netherlands (NED)	6			8			2	2	3	6	2	3	3		1	3	11
New Zealand (NZL)			ANZ		1			3	1	1	1	2	1				7
Norway (NOR)					4	1		1		1	1	4			1	1	8
Philippines (PHI)					3				2			1	1	1	2		6
Poland (POL)					4	4	3		3	6	4	5	4	6	2	1	11
Portugal (POR)								1	3	1	1	1		1			6
Puerto Rico (PUR)					1	2		1	2		1						5
Qatar (QAT)														1			1
Romania (ROU)							4							1			2
Russia (RUS)	Russian Empire			Soviet Union						EUN	6	4	5	5	3	3	6
Samoa (SAM)														1	1		2
San Marino (SMR)										1	1				1		3
Saudi Arabia (KSA)								3	2								2
Slovakia (SVK)	Hungary			Czechoslovakia												2	1
Slovenia (SLO)	Austria / Hungary			Yugoslavia						1	3	1			1		4
Solomon Islands (SOL)									1								1
South Africa (RSA)										2	3	2	1	1	1		6
Soviet Union (URS)	Russian Empire				6	3	4		6	EUN							4
Unified Team (EUN)				URS	Soviet Union					6							1
Spain (ESP)					2		2	4	4	4	1	1	2	1	2	4	11
Sweden (SWE)					5	4	3	5	6	3	6	6	3	1	1	1	12
Switzerland (SUI)					4		4	3	2					1	2		6
Tajikistan (TJK)	Russian Empire			Soviet Union						EUN			1	1			2
Thailand (THA)						3		2							1	1	4
Tonga (TGA)													1			2	2
Turkey (TUR)								2	6	6	4	6	4	2	1	2	9
Uganda (UGA)												1					1
Ukraine (UKR)	Russian Empire			Soviet Union						EUN	6	6	6	5	6	4	6
United States (USA)		29	1		6	4		6	6	5	6	6	6	5	6	4	13
Vanuatu (VAN)												1					1
Venezuela (VEN)														1	2	2	3
Yugoslavia (YUG)						1	1										2
Zimbabwe (ZIM)							1		4							1	3
No. of nations	3	1	3	3	27	24	25	35	41	44	41	46	43	49	55	56	98
No. of archers	153	29	57	30	95	64	67	109	146	135	125	128	128	128	128	128
Year	00	04	08	20	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	Years

Records

The Olympic records for archery are for the competition format established in 1992.

Men's

# of arrows	Archer(s)	Score	Games
72 (ranking)	Kim Woo-jin (KOR)	700	2016
18	Park Kyung-mo (KOR)	173	2004
12	Lee Chang-hwan (KOR)	117	2008
36 (finals)	Tim Cuddihy (AUS)	340	2004
216 (team ranking)	South Korea (KOR) Im Dong-Hyun Kim Bub-Min Oh Jin-Hyek	2087	2012
27 (team)	South Korea (KOR) Jang Yong-ho Oh Kyo-moon Kim Chung-tae	258	2000
54 (team finals)	United States (USA) Justin Huish Butch Johnson Rod White	502	1996

Women's

# of arrows	Archer(s)	Score	Games
72 (ranking)	Park Sung-hyun (KOR)	682	2004
18	Yun Mi-jin (KOR)	173	2000
			2004
12	Park Sung-hyun (KOR)	115	2008
36 (finals)	Kim Nam-soon (KOR)	334	2000
215 (team ranking)	South Korea (KOR) Park Sung-hyun Lee Sung-jin Yun Mi-jin	2030	2004
27 (team)	South Korea (KOR) Kim Soo-nyung Kim Nam-soon Yun Mi-jin	252	2000
54 (team finals)	South Korea (KOR) Kim Soo-nyung Kim Nam-soon Yun Mi-jin	502	2000
24 (team finals)	South Korea (KOR) Park Sung-hyun Joo Hyun-jung Yun Ok-hee	231	2008

See also

• List of Olympic medalists in archery
• List of Olympic venues in archery
• Archery at the Summer Paralympics
• Archery at the Youth Olympic Games

References

1. "History of World Archery". World Archery Federation. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
2. Belgium Olympic Committee (1957). Olympic Games Antwerp 1920: Official Report (in French).
3. International Olympic Committee medal database
4. "Archery Qualification" (PDF). World Archery Federation. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
5. "2012 London Qualification System" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2012-07-27.
6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2012-07-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

• International Olympic Committee results database

External links

• IOC Archery
• WA homepage