Archery is generally regarded as a challenging mind game. In order to participate in or compete in this sport, one must be free of all distractions. Here are the top ten greatest archers of all time.
Greatest Archers of All Time – Updated for 2022
In recent times, archery has become more than just a game. Further, it has now established itself as one of the most popular sports in the world. The following athletes represent the finest practitioners of the sport. Find out more by reading on.
10. Hiroshi Yamamoto
Yamamoto, an incredibly talented junior, has won seven titles at both the high school level and the college level. She still holds this record as the top junior in the nation. It was in Los Angeles that he made his first Olympic appearance in 1984, following his international debut in 1981.
A bronze medal was awarded to him at that event. In 1988 in Seoul, he was also a prominent athlete, where he placed eighth individually and sixth with the Japanese team during a respectable run.
A second time he represented Japan was in 1992 in Barcelona, and also in 1996 in Atlanta. Having finished 17th and 19th, respectively, he returned empty-handed. In my opinion, Yamamoto deserves to be ranked among the best archers of all time.
9. Lee Sung Jin
Korea’s Lee Sung Jin is considered one of the best archers in the world. As a member of her country’s team, she has earned three Olympic medals. These achievements were obtained in three Olympic appearances.
However, she almost did not choose to become an archer when she was a junior. Her primary interest during her high school years was track racing. She considered archery an additional sport during this period.
She became one of the greats of her sport as soon as she started showing common sense and performing exceptional performances. In 2005, shortly after becoming the number one player in the world, she won a world championship as well.
8. Park Kyung-Mo (South Korea)
South Korean archer Park Kyung-Mo is one of the best in the world. For his country, he has won a total of three medals at the Olympics.
In addition to two gold medals, one silver medal was also awarded. Park has also held the world number one position since 2004.
As well as 6 world championship medals, including 4 gold medals, he has also won 6 Olympic medals. Among the greatest archers of his generation, he will be remembered.
7. Michele Frangilli (Italy)
In the list of the top 10 greatest archers, Michele Frangelli comes in at number 7. In 2012, he won the gold medal for Italy at the Olympic Games in London.
At the Olympics, Michele has won three medals for the Italian Archery team. As a symbol of longevity in the sport, he is an obvious choice for his list.
He also trained hard to represent the United States in his sixth Olympic Games in Rio 2016. The archer has also won seven medals at World Championships since 1999, in addition to his Olympic accomplishments.
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6. Ki Bo Bae (South Korea)
We have now reached the 6th place on our list of the top 10 greatest archers of all time. Her accomplishment is truly remarkable. At the time of her entry into London in 2012, she was ranked second in the world. The winner of the gold medal was a significant distance ahead of her closest competitors.
After winning the individual gold, she went on to win the team gold. But her achievements didn’t end with London. It was in 2015 when Park destroyed her compatriot Park Sung Hyun’s world record of 682, which had stood for 11 years. During the qualification for the 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju, she achieved a score of 686.
From 2011 to 2015, she received seven world championship medals. Among these were five gold medals. In the event that she draws a curtain on her career, she would probably be at the top of the list.
5. Marco Galiazzo (Italy)
In this list of the top 10 best archers of all time, Marco Galiazzo is ranked number 5. It is the only time Italy has won multiple gold medals in the event of archery that he appears on this list.
Moreover, Galiazzo used to rank first in the world in archery, according to the World Archery ranking. Moreover, he is the only Italian ever to have won the Women’s Individual Recurve event. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Marco lost in the team event final to Korea.
He achieved revenge by defeating them in the semi-finals of the London Olympics and winning the gold medal. Additionally, Marco has appeared on the podium at two world championships.
4. Yun Mi-Jin (South Korea)
Yun Mi-Jin is ranked number four in this list of the great archers of all time. In addition to this, she is yet another famous world-class archer from South Korea.
Aside from that, Yun has also achieved great success as an Olympic athlete. As many as three Olympic medals were won by her over the course of her career. She currently holds the world record of 173/180 for an 18-arrow contest.
In addition, she is a former world number one in the women’s recurve event. She has been a world champion on three separate occasions. The third Korean to win three gold medals at the Olympics is also the most successful athlete in the history of the sport.
3. Im Dong Hyun
The Korean icon Im Dong Heung is a raging celebrity in his own country and a cultural icon. Currently, his left eye has 20/200 vision and his right eye has 20/100 vision. Essentially, this means that he must stand at least 10 times closer to see objects with his left eye when compared to someone with perfect vision.
Despite his handicap, he has achieved a number of legendary feats. A world record of 687 was achieved by Heung in a 72-arrow men’s individual recurve qualifying round at the 2004 Athens Olympics, marking his first appearance at the Games.
A second world record was later set by him in 2012 when he shot 699 for 72 arrows. The win came in a one-point victory over his compatriot Kim Bub-Min. Furthermore, he has won eight medals at the world championships in archery.
2. Darrell Pace
On this list of the 10 greatest archers of all time, Darrell Pace is ranked number 2. In the history of the Olympic games, he is the only individual who has won multiple gold medals.
Having won his first gold medal in 1976 in Montreal, he repeated his success eight years later in 1984 in Los Angeles. The American posthumously won a silver medal for his country in the team event in spite of not achieving an individual medal in 1988. As a result, he is remembered as one of the greatest archers in the history of the United States.
He also won eight Pan American Games medals during his career, in addition to tasting Olympic success.
1. Kim Soo Nyung
Kim Soo Nyung is without a doubt the best archer of all time. She also holds the record for being the most decorated archer in Olympic history. Over the course of her distinguished professional career, the South Korean star has won six Olympic medals.
Following her retirement from competitive sports in 1992, she got married and then gave birth to two children. The athlete returned to the sport in 1999 and won a bronze medal in Sydney, Australia, in 2000.
In addition to her Olympic achievements, she has won four gold medals in world championships and a bronze medal at the Asian Games. The International Archery Federation (FITA) declared Kim to be the Female Archer of the 20th Century in 2011.
