Archery is a sport of accuracy. It requires great aim, judgement of the wind, impeccable self-control and nerves of steel. Besides all these attributes, one needs to have the mental toughness of delivering on the world stage and handle the pressure that comes with the glory of representing your own nation at the greatest show on earth.
Many multiple world junior champions and world champions have failed at the Olympics because they have were not able to handle the pressure that comes with it. But Koreans, in general, appear to be better than others having won 3 of the 4 Gold medals on offer in the last Olympics at London.
As the sport of Archery draws its latest headline event at Rio Olympics in a few hours, we count down the Top 10 Greatest Archers in Olympic History.
#10 Lee Sung Jin (South Korea)
Lee Sung Jin is an archer from South Korea. She has won 3 Olympic medals for her country over 3 appearances at the Olympic games. She nearly did not become an archer as a junior though, as she was interested into track running during her school years.
Archery was just another sport to her then but soon enough common senses prevailed and exceptional performances year after year saw her become one of the greats of her sport. She also won a world championship in 2005 shortly after becoming the world number 1. She also won the Summer Universiade the same year.
Olympic Appearances: 3
Olympic Medals: 3
Medal Summary:
Event | Discipline | Medal |
2004 Athens | Women’s Team Recurve | Gold |
2012 London | Women’s Team Recurve | Gold |
2004 Athens | Women’s Individual Recurve | Silver |
#9 Park Kyung-Mo (South Korea)
Park Kyung-Mo is another world class archer from South Korea. He has won 3 medals for his country at the Olympics including 2 golds and 1 silver medal. Park is also a former world number 1. He also has 6 world championship medals to his name including 4 gold medals and will be remembered as one of the best archers of his era.
Olympic Appearances: 2
Olympic Medals: 3
Medal Summary:
Event | Discipline | Medal |
2004 Athens | Men’s Team Recurve | Gold |
2008 Beijing | Men’s Team Recurve | Gold |
2008 Beijing | Men’s Individual Recurve | Silver |
#8 Ki Bo Bae (South Korea)
At number 8 comes the current world number 1 and defending Olympic champion for the Women’s Recurve event in archery. Ki Bo Bae is a phenomenon. She headed into London 2012 as the world number 2 and was daylights ahead of her nearest challengers, winning the gold medal with ease. She followed it up with a gold in the team event as well.
And she did not stop at London either, in 2015, she destroyed compatriot Park Sung Hyun’s 11-year long world record of 682 when she scored 686 at qualification of the Universiade in Gwangju in 2015.
She also has 7 world championship medals to her name between the years of 2011 and 2015, including 5 gold medals. She would perhaps be much higher up the list once she draws curtains on her career.
Olympic Appearances: 1
Olympic Medals: 2
Medal Summary:
Event | Discipline | Medal |
2012 London | Women’s Individual Recurve | Gold |
2012 London | Women’s Team Recurve | Gold |
#7 Michele Frangilli (Italy)
Michelle Frangilli is an Italian Archer who has won 3 medals for his country at the Olympics. He makes it into his list as a symbol of longevity within the sport as he prepares for his 6th appearance in the Olympic games at Rio 2016. Besides Olympic success, the archer also possesses 7 World championship medals between 1999 and 2011.
Olympic Appearances: 5
Olympic Medals: 3
Medal Summary:
Event | Discipline | Medal |
1996 Atlanta | Men’s Team Recurve | Bronze |
2000 Sydney | Men’s Team Recurve | Silver |
2012 London | Men’s Team Recurve | Gold |
#6 Marco Galiazzo(Italy)
Marco Galiazzo comes into this list as the only multiple gold medallist for Italy in the sport of archery. He is also a former world number 1 and the only Italian to have ever won the Men’s Individual recurve event.
Marco lost in the final of 2008 Beijing games in the team event to Korea but found revenge sweet defeating them in the semi-finals on route to a gold medal in London 2012. Marco has also been on the podium at the world championships on a couple of occasions.
Olympic Appearances: 3
Olympic Medals: 3
Medal Summary:
Event | Discipline | Medal |
2004 Athens | Men’s Individual Recurve | Gold |
2008 Beijing | Men’s Team Recurve | Silver |
2012 London | Men’s Team Recurve | Gold |
#5 Yun Mi Jin (South Korea)
Yun Mi Jin is yet another world class archer from the country of South Korea. She is a multiple Olympics medallist having won as many as 3 Olympic medals throughout her career and currently holds the world record of 173/180 for an 18 arrow competition.
She is also a former world number one in women’s recurve and has been a world champion on 3 occasions. She is also the third Korean in history to have won 3 Gold medals at the Olympics.
Olympic Appearances: 2
Olympic Medals: 3
Medal Summary:
Event | Discipline | Medal |
2000 Sydney | Women’s Individual Recurve | Gold |
2000 Sydney | Women’s Team Recurve | Gold |
2004 Athens | Women’s Team Recurve | Gold |
#4 Im Dong Hyun (South Korea)
Im Dong Heung is a Korean icon and a superstar in his own country. He has 20/200 vision in his left eye and 20/100 vision in his right eye, which means he has to stand 10 times closer to see objects with his left eye compared to someone with perfect vision. His achievements, despite his handicap, are legendary.
In his maiden Olympics appearance in 2004 at Athens, Heung set the world record in a 72-arrow men’s individual recurve qualifying round with a score of 687.
Then in 2012, he set the new world record score of 699 for 72 arrows beating his compatriot Kim Bub-Min by one point. Besides this, he has also won 6 world championship medals in archery.
Olympic Appearances: 3
Olympic Medals: 3
Medal Summary:
Event | Discipline | Medal |
2004 Athens | Men’s Team Recurve | Gold |
2008 Beijing | Men’s Team Recurve | Gold |
2012 London | Men’s Team Recurve | Bronze |
#3 Darrell Pace (USA)
Darrell Pace comes in 3rd place in the list of greatest archers in Olympics history as the only person to have won multiple individual gold medals in the history of the Olympic games. He had won his first gold medal in 1976 Montreal and repeated the feat 8 years later in 1984 at Los Angeles.
Despite missing out on an individual medal in 1988, the American did manage to win a silver medal for his country in the team event and going down in the history books as the greatest American archer of all time.
Besides tasting Olympics success, he also won 8 Pan American Games medals over the course of his career.
Olympic Appearances: 4
Olympic Medals: 3
Medal Summary:
Event | Discipline | Medal |
1976 Montreal | Men’s Individual Recurve | Gold |
1988 Seoul | Men’s Team Recurve | Silver |
1984 Los Angeles | Men’s Individual Recurve | Gold |
#2 Park Sung-Hyun (South Korea)
Park Sung Hyun was a South Korean Archer who won 4 Olympic medals in her two appearances in 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing.
In 2004, she completed the qualifying round at the Olympics and set a world record for 72 arrows with a score of 682, a record which lasted for 11 years. She won the gold in Athens and the silver in Beijing in the individual events.
Besides her achievements at the Olympics, she also won as many as 8 world championship medals over the course of her career.
Olympic Appearances: 2
Olympic Medals: 4
Medal Summary:
Event | Discipline | Medal |
2004 Athens | Women’s Individual Recurve | Gold |
2004 Athens | Women’s Team Recurve | Gold |
2008 Beijing | Women’s Individual Recurve | Silver |
2008 Beijing | Women’s Team Recurve | Gold |
#1 Kim Soo Nyung (South Korea)
Kim Soo Nyung makes it to the top of this list as the most decorated archer in Olympics history. The South Korean superstar has won as many as 6 Olympic medals over the course of her distinguished professional career.
After retiring from the sport in 1992, she got married and gave birth to two children. She returned to the sport in 1999 and won the bronze medal in 2000 at Sydney
Besides Olympic success, she has also won 4 world championship gold medals and an Asian Games bronze. In 2011, Kim was declared as the Female Archer of the 20th Century by the International Archery Federation (FITA).
Olympic Appearances: 3
Olympic Medals: 6
Medal Summary:
Event | Discipline | Medal |
1988 Seoul | Women’s Individual Recurve | Gold |
1988 Seoul | Women’s Team Recurve | Gold |
1992 Barcelona | Women’s Individual Recurve | Silver |
1992 Barcelona | Women’s Team Recurve | Gold |
2000 Sydney | Women’s Individual Recurve | Bronze |
2000 Sydney | Women’s Team Recurve | Gold |
