Korean women's archery team wins 10th consecutive gold in Olympics

From left, Jeon Hun-young, Lim Si-hyeon, and Nam Su-hyeon celebrate after winning the gold medal in the women\'s archery team event at the Paris Olympics at Invalides in Paris on July 28. Yonhap News

In a shoot-off, which is likened to "Russian roulette," Korea tied China 27-27. A dramatic turnaround occurred in a situation where one wrong move could have cost Korea a gold medal this time and the 10th consecutive Olympic gold medal in the women's archery team event.

The first shot by Jeon Hun-young and the last arrow by Lim Si-hyeon changed the score from 9 to 10. The final score was 29-27. Just like in a football game, the winner and loser was decided by Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

The Korean women's archery team consisting of Lim Si-hyeon, Nam Su-hyeon, and Jeon Hun-young defeated China 5-4 on set points in a shootout in the women's archery team final at the Paris Olympics at Invalides in France on July 28. Korea's proud archers have succeeded in winning the 10th consecutive gold medal that will go down in Olympic history.

The 10th consecutive victory in the Olympics, which takes place once every four years, is surprising in that a country has not given up the top spot in a particular event for 40 years.

Three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, the U.S. men's 100-meter medley relay and the Kenyan men's 3,000-meter steeplechase were the only two events to challenge to win the 10th consecutive gold medal, but only U.S. swimming succeeded in setting a record. In this competition, Korea's archery won the 10th consecutive gold medal first. It is interesting to note that Korea earned half of 10 gold medals against China.

In fact, there was some concern ahead of Korea's bid for a 10th consecutive title. The lack of experience was pointed out because all of the national team's players participated in the Olympics for the first time unlike any other time.

However, the Korean archers have shown the power of a stronger system than experience. In archery, the competition for being a national team player is tougher than the Olympic Games. This is because the qualifications for a national team player are determined solely by players’ performance through three selection matches.

The fact that An San, who won three gold medals in the Tokyo Olympics, failed to make the cut is a testament to the difficulty. In other words, there is no doubt about the quality of the athletes who represent Korea. The fierce internal competition was recently highlighted in the documentary “TEN,” produced by the World Archery Federation (WA).

Korean players showed off their archery skills in the team event as well, which they began to show off in the ranking round. They struggled a bit with the strong winds from the Seine River, but they showed their strength at every turn. In the semifinal shoot-off against the Netherlands, Jeon and Nam, who were worried about their performance, showed off their nerves of steel by shooting 9 and 10 points, respectively. In the final, the Korean team smiled in the shoot-off as Jeon shot 10 points six times.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.