Women's Archery Finals
Korea's KIM Right on Target
KIM Kyung-Wook (KOR) outlasted HE Ying of China and 63 other Olympic archers to win the gold medal in the women's individual competition Wednesday. Frustrated in the early rounds, KIM paused briefly to talk to her coaches and went on to eliminate WANG Xiaozhu (CHN), 106 to 103. Teammate YOON Hye-Young also became a casualty in KIM's triumphal march as she lost, 165-164. KIM then shot a final round of 113 bettering HE's final outing of 107 to claim the top spot on the Olympic podium.
In her quest for an Olympic medal, HE had upset Great Britain's Alison WILLIAMSON (ranked 7th in the world) and Germany's Barbara MENSING in the preliminary rounds. In her matchup with HE, MENSING missed the target completely on her eighth shot turning HE's two point lead into an eleven point lead. Ironically, on her last shot, MENSING hit a bulls-eye hitting the television camera hidden in the middle of the target. Early MENSING had upset the number one ranked archer in the world, Natalia VALEEVA (MDA).
Bronze medalist Olena SADOVNCHA (UKR) outscored Elif ALTINKAYNAK of Turkey 109-102 to finish in third place.
The men's Individual competition begins Thursday.
Medalists: Gold- KIM, Kyun-Wook (KOR), Silver - HE Ying (CHN), Bronze: Olena SADOCNYCHA (UKR)
"This climate is very different from ours," said SADOVNCHA (UKR) "It was very hot and humid, but I have a secret for handling the heat, but I'm not telling."
To No Surprise, Korean Archers Setting Pace in Prelims
KIM Kyung-Wook and KIM Jo-SUN, both of Korea, are among the eight remaining archers heading into this afternoon's final rounds of competition. KIM Yung-Wook scored the highest round of the morning; a score of 168 in eliminating teammate YOON Hye-Young.
Barbara MENSING (GER), WANG Xiaozhu (CHN), HE Ying (CHN), Olga YAKUSHEVA (BLR), Olena SADOVNYCHA (UKS) and Elif ALTINJAYNAK (TUR) complete the list of those whose hopes for an Olympic medal are still a possibility.
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