US and South Korean Archers at the Olympics

Archery is one of the oldest sports in existence. The earliest recorded archery competition resembling modern contests took place in Finsbury, England, in 1583, but the bow and arrow was invented more than 71,000 years ago. Unsurprisingly, archery was featured at the second modern Olympics in 1900 and has been included in numerous Olympic programs ever since, including every Summer Games since 1972. Over the course of nearly 130 years, two nations have excelled at archery at the Olympics.

Archery was included in the 1900, 1904, 1908, and 1920 Olympics. The programs varied in size and discipline, though they did not hold much in common with the modern format that has been formalized and maintained by the World Archery Federation. None of the first four archery competitions featured more than three nations, and host nations dominated both fields and medal tables.

Archery was dropped from the Olympics following the 1920 Antwerp games. In 1931, the World Archery Foundation was established, in part, to standardize the sport and rejoin Olympic competition. It proved quite challenging, with more than 50 years passing between archery competitions at the Olympics.

The United States, one of a few nations to excel at the early archery competitions, resumed the national tradition of archery success at the 1972 Games in Munich. John Williams won gold in men, while Doreen Wilber matched his feat in the women’s competition. No other nation earned more than one medal.

America repeated the double-gold victory in Quebec at the following Summer Games thanks to Darrell Pace and Luann Ryon. Women from the Soviet Union earned silver and gold medals, foreshadowing Soviet dominance at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Soviet athletes won three of six medals, including the women’s gold and silver.

Pace would deliver the US another American gold during the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, with Richard McKinney adding a silver, in what would be the final Olympics with just two archery competitions. The 1984 Games also saw South Korean women earn gold and bronze medals, marking the start of a new era in Olympic archery competition.

South Korea has won more medals in total and at each tournament since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Jay Barrs managed another American gold in men’s individual archery, but South Korean athletes claimed gold in the other three fields, with the Olympic programming to include team events for men and women. South Korea added three additional medals for six out of 12 medals. The nation added two more women’s gold medals in 1992, plus a pair of silvers.

American men claimed both golds during the 1996 Games in Atlanta, but South Korean women added two more golds, plus two additional medals for the men. Between 2000 and 2020, South Korea earned 15 gold medals in archery and 20 medals overall, more than any other nation. In 2020, the Tokyo Games added a fifth discipline: a mixed-team event. South Korea won four out of five gold medals but did not place in the men’s individual competition.

The next Summer Olympics are scheduled for July 26 through August 11, 2024, in Paris. The games will return to the US in 2028 for the Los Angeles Summer Olympics.