28 June 2011 - Athlete of the Century: KIM Soo-Nyung (KOR)

Athlete of the Century: KIM Soo-Nyung (KOR) Lausanne – 28 June 2011 KIM Soo-Nyung, Media Director at World Championships 2009 Ulsan    KIM Soo-Nyung, 40 years old, was a member of the Korean Olympic archery team in 1988, 1992, and 2000. She has won a total of four Olympic gold medals, as well as one silver and one bronze. She also won the world championships in 1989 and 1991. After the 1992 Olympics she retired to marry and raise two children, resuming her training in 1999 and winning another medal at the 2000 Olympics. KIM dominated her sport, even as a teenager, and is widely considered the greatest female archer ever. She was named "Athlete of the Century" at the FITA Congress 2011.   She was only 17 years old when she won gold medals in both the individual and team archery events before an appreciative hometown crowd at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. After adding the 1989 and 1991 world championships individual and team titles, KIM won the silver medal in the individual event at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and took home another gold medal in the team event. Then she retired at the age of 21.   Over the next seven years, KIM married and raised two children. She returned to training in 1999 and qualified for the Korean Olympic team for the 2000 Sydney Games. This time she finished third in the individual event to give her a complete set of medals. Finally, she led the Korean team to an easy victory in the team event to bring her gold medal total to four.   In 2009 KIM worked as a Media Director for the World Archery Championships in Ulsan, Korea. Read her interview here…   Biography Extract:   KIM Soo-Nyung (KOR) – Born 5 April 1971   3rd Individual Olympic Games Sydney 2000 1st Team Olympic Games Sydney 2000 2nd Individual Olympic Games Barcelona 1992 1st Team Olympic Games Barcelona 1992 1st Individual World Championships Krakow 1991 1st Team World Championships Krakow 1991 3rd Individual Asian Games Beijing 1990 1st Individual World Championships Lausanne 1989 1st Team World Championships Lausanne 1989 1st Individual Olympic Games Seoul 1988 1st Team Olympic Games Seoul 1988   More information on KIM Soo-Nyung and all other archers can be found at the World Archery website.   World Archery Communication  
Biographies