Archery first appeared in the Olympic Games in 1900 and was contested again in 1904, 1908, and 1920. In those four Games, it was possible for an archer to compete in numerous events and win several medals. Hubert van Innis (BEL) is the most decorated archer in Olympic history, winning six gold medals and three silvers in 1900 and 1920. Archery was re-introduced to the Olympic program in 1972 with an individual event for men and for women and John Williams and Doreen Wilber of the USA captured the gold medals. Team competition was added to the medal program in Seoul in 1988.

Television
Never before have so many spectators been able to watch archery live on television as in 1996 :

• Belgium:2 millions TV spectators during a 2h live broadcast of theIndividual finals in Atlanta
• Italy:4 millions TV spectators during the live broadcast in the Atlanta Team finals
• USA:30 minutes of prime time TV on Archery and Justin Huish
• 45999 tickets sold
• 54680 spectators during the Atlanta Games Archery Competition
  

Archery has proved at the Atlanta Games that it is a true Olympic Sport, capable of creating a lot of drama and emotions. FITA received tokens of appreciation for its sport from IOC members, TV Executives and Media specialists as well as the general public. The archery coverage of Atlanta won the Golden Rings Award from the IOC for the best Olympic Sports coverage.

Results from the previous Olympics

The Olympic archery program runs over seven days from 16 to 22 September 2000 with one day set aside for ranking (Day 1) and the remaining six for competition.

The Olympic Test Tournament took place 20-26 September 1999 at the Sydney International Archery Park. The Sydney Golden Arrow was a test event for the Olympic Games. 117 archers participated. The competition followed the Olympic program and allowed the organisers to pinpoint those details that still need some improvement. It also allowed people to realise how windy the competition field is.
The number one male archer in the world Lionel Torres (FRA) won the gold medal beating Jang Yong Ho in the final match. His team-mate Sebastien Flute, Olympic Champion in 1992, lost his match for the bronze medal versus promising Turkish archer Tunc Kucukkayalar (winner of the Arizona Cup (World Ranking Tournament) in April 99). U.S 2000 Olympic team member Karen Scavotto destroyed all predictions and brought home the gold medal in the women?s class. None of the super-favourites got to the finals here, including World Champion Lee Eun Kyung who finally ranked 29th. Men?s World Champion Hong Sung Chil won the ranking round but lost his 1/16th match and was eliminated. The Korean men?s team established a new world record for 27 arrow matches with a score of 260 points. They beat the Italian world champions in the gold medal match.

Archery is one of the oldest arts still practised. This history will not only take you through a journey on the evolution of archery, but also through the history of mankind. Indeed, both are closely linked. Evidence of ancient archery has been found throughout the world, even in Australia where it had previously been thought that the bow had not been used.
Although archery probably dates to the Stone Age (around 20?000 BC), the earliest people known to have used the bow and arrow were the ancient Egyptians, who adopted it at least 5000 years ago for purposes of hunting and warfare.
In 1200 BC , the Hittites would use the bow from light, fast chariots that enabled them to become dreaded opponents in Middle Eastern battles. Their neighbours, the Assyrians used archery extensively. They built bows from several different types of material : tendon, horn and wood. They also gave the bow a new, recurved shape that was far more powerful and as it was shorter, it was more easily handled by an archer on horseback.
In China, archery dates back to the Shang dynasty (1766-1027 BC). A war chariot of that time carried a three-man team : driver, lancer and archer. During the ensuing Zhou (Chou) dynasty (1027-256 BC), nobles at court attended sport archery tournaments that were accompanied by music and interspersed with elegant salutations.
Chinese civil archery introduced to Japan from the 6th century had an overriding influence on later etiquette and techniques. One of Japan?s martial arts was originally known as kyujutsu (the art of the bow), now known as kyudo (way of the bow). Kyudo today continues to be taught in the traditionally prescribed manner. After certain ritual movements, the archer advances with deliberate steps to the shooting line and shoots at a target 36 cm in diameter set in a bank of sand that is roofed over, from a distance of 28 meters. The bow is 2.21 meter-long and made of laminated strips of bamboo and wood.
In the Greco-Roman period, the bow was more used for personal exploits or hunting, rather than warfare. Archers are frequently seen on pottery at that time. Both the Greeks and the Romans used Cretan as archers. The Romans are said to have been second-rate archers as until the fifth century their bows were shot by drawing the string to the chest, instead of the longer draw to the face which gives the arrow far more accuracy. Their opponents had often far better skills. The Parthians for instance were horsemen who developed the skill of swivelling around in the saddle and could shoot backwards at full gallop.
Middle Eastern superiority in archer equipment and technique continued for centuries. With bows like those of the Assyrians and Parthians, Attila the Hun and his Mongols conquered much of Europe and Asia, and Turkish archers threw back the Crusaders.
For Native Americans, the bow was both a means of subsistence and existence before and during the days of English and later American colonisation. This has been the case, and still is in some countries, on the African continent.
The popularity of archery is reflected in the many ballads and folklore, such as for instance Robin Hood, to name the most famous one. In Greek mythology, reference is often made to archers.
English literature honours the longbow for famous victories in the battles of Crecy, Agincourt and Poitiers. The first known organised competition in archery was held at Finsbury, England in 1583 and included 3000 participants ! By the time of the 30 Years War (1618-1648), it was clear that the bow as weapon belonged to the past, due to the introduction of the gunfire. Since then, archery developed as a recreational sport.