Of course the opening ceremonies were amazing (even considering the controversies surrounding the production), but I have been really getting into events that I didn’t really think much about. The one event that I have enjoyed the most has been Archery. I guess it’s kind of geeky, but the bows look so cool, and the archers get to wear some cool outfits. They all wear a protective covering over the left half of their chest (or right half if they shoot lefty) which often has a cute design. The S. Korean archer Yun Ok-Hee had a cute panda on hers (see pic), and I saw Garfield on a Polish competitor. Plus, they get to wear some cool hats as well. The archery stadium is really neat too. It’s just three sets of huge bleachers, with the target range in the center. It reminds me of the stands in the Harry Potter quiddich tournaments.
The competition itself is pretty basic. They just take turns shooting at the target, with the bulls eye being worth ten points, and going down from there the farther you miss the center. The one who finishes with the highest score at the end of four rounds of three shots each wins. If there is a tie, then they just keep shooting until one of the archers gets a better shot than the other. What is amazing to me is that there is an incredible arc the arrow travels in its flight to the target. The camera angle from behind the archer shows how much they have to compensate to make sure the arrow hits the target. It’s crazy that the can be dialed in immediately for the first shot! As usual, the S. Koreans dominated this Olympics, although China did take gold in the women’s individual competition, breaking an incredible undefeated string held by the S. Koreans.
The Archery competition is now over, but I’d recommend catching some of the highlights. It’s pretty neat.
Photos are of Najme Habtin of Iran and Yun Ok-Hee of S. Korea from nbcolympics.com