How far do they shoot in archery in the Olympics? Rules, records, scoring and equipment

Taking place at the Olympics for the 17th time, archery made its debut at the Summer Games in Paris in 1900, and has been ever present at the event since 1972.

How does Olympic archery work?

Using a kind of bow known as a recurve bow - it has limbs that curve away from the holder when unstrung - archers shoot arrows at a 122cm target positioned 70m away. The target has 10 rings, each worth a number of points that increases the closer you get to the centre. The outermost ring earns one point, while the innermost ring is worth a maximum 10 points. If the arrow lands on the line between two rings, the archer is given the higher score.

What other equipment do archers use?

Archers place an adjustable sight on their recurve bow to help them aim at the target. They also attach rods to the bow to help stabilise it.

What archery events are there at Paris 2024?

Held at Les Invalides in the French capital, the 2024 Olympics archery event is divided into five competitions: men’s individual, women’s individual, men’s team, women’s team and mixed team.

The men’s and women’s team events have already concluded - and South Korea, archery’s most successful Olympic nation, has dominated so far.

The women’s team comPetition was won by South Korea’s Jeon Hun-young, Lim Si-hyeon and Nam Su-hyeon, who beat the Chinese trio of An Qixuan, Li Jiaman and Yang Xiaolei to the gold. Meanwhile, the men’s team also went the way of the South Koreans: Kim Je-deok, Kim Woo-jin and Lee Woo-seok took victory ahead of hosts France, who were represented by Baptiste Addis, Thomas Chirault and Jean-Charles Valladont.

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August archery schedule at Paris 2024 (all times ET)

Thursday, August 1

Men’s Individual 1/32 Elimination Round: 3:30 a.m.

Women’s Individual 1/32 Elimination Round: 3:56 a.m.

Men’s Individual 1/16 Elimination Round: 4:22 a.m.

Women’s Individual 1/16 Elimination Round: 4:35 a.m.

Men’s Individual 1/32 Elimination Round: 9:30 a.m.

Women’s Individual 1/32 Elimination Round: 9:56 a.m.

Men’s Individual 1/16 Elimination Round: 10:22 a.m.

Women’s Individual 1/16 Elimination Round: 10:54 a.m.

Women’s Individual Ranking Round: 3:30 a.m.

Men’s Individual Ranking Round: 8:15 a.m.

Friday, August 2

Mixed Team 1/8 Elimination Round: 3:30 a.m.

Mixed Team Quarterfinals: 8:15 a.m.

Mixed Team Semifinals: 9:31 a.m.

Mixed Team Bronze Medal Match: 10:40 a.m.

Mixed Team Gold Medal Match: 10:43 a.m.

Saturday, August 3

Women’s Individual 1/8 Elimination Round: 3:30 a.m.

Women’s Individual Quarterfinals: 7 a.m.

Women’s Individual Semifinals: 7:52 a.m.

Women’s Individual Bronze Medal Match: 8:33 a.m.

Women’s Individual Gold Medal Match: 8:46 a.m.

Sunday, August 4

Men’s Individual 1/8 Elimination Round: 3:30 a.m.

Men’s Individual Quarterfinals: 7:00 a.m.

Men’s Individual Semifinals: 7:52 a.m.

Men’s Individual Bronze Medal Match: 8:33 a.m.

Men’s Individual Gold Medal Match: 8:46 a.m.

Who is the most decorated archer at the Olympics?

Currently, the most successful archer in Olympic History is South Korea’s Kim Soo-Nyung, who won four gold medals across the 1988, 1992 and 2000 Games. As mentioned above, South Korea is the most decorated nation in the History of Olympic archery, having won a total of 45 medals, including 29 golds.

How to watch archery at the 2024 Olympics in the USA

TV viewers in the United States can watch the 2024 Paris Olympics on NBC Olympics, Telemundo, Universo and Peacock, as well as NBC sister channels including CNBC, E! and USA Network.