Taru’s Olympic success inspiring Finnish recurve revival

While some archers arrive at Hyundai Archery World Cup stages in teams of 20 or more, some fly completely solo. Taru Kuoppa is the sole representative from Finland in Antalya and, before the tournament even starts, she’s at least enjoying the weather in Turkey, invariably the sunniest stage of the circuit.

“We had snow last week at home,” she said laughing.

Antalya has very special memories for the 33 year-old, who is spearheading a minor archery revival in her home country after finally achieving her Olympic dream last year in Rio. This year’s stage is actually her third visit to beach town, coming some 17 years after her first trip to Antalya as a junior, when it hosted the European championships in 2000.

“I started competing in '98 as a junior, but when I was younger I didn’t get the results I wanted and I was mentally quite weak. I had a dream to go to the Olympics, so when I quit archery in 2004, I was very upset that I hadn’t got to where I wanted,” she said. 

“But it kind of stayed inside me somewhere, and one day it just popped up again. I had the urge to go to the field and start over.” 

In 2013, she finally returned to the sport, with the goal of making it to Rio.

“It wasn’t that difficult to start again, actually. It’s kind of like riding a bike,” Taru said. “The European Games was my first big event. Then I went to Copenhagen for the World Archery Championships, which was okay, although I didn’t get an Olympic spot.” 

She returned to Antalya last year for the final Olympic qualifying competition, and won three straight matches to gain a precious single invitation for Finland: “I was really confident. I just wanted it so badly. I don’t remember what I won or who it was. It went so fast.” 

Goal achieved, in Rio she came in 14th place over the ranking round, with an international personal best in tricky afternoon qualifying conditions.

“I shot good. I just kind of waited for the holes in the wind. But I was pretty nervous in the elimination,” Taru recalled. In the end, she went down in the first round to giant-killer Htwe San Yu of Myanmar. 

Finland’s most famous archer is Tomi Poikolainen, who won individual Olympic gold in Moscow in 1980, competing at five Games and winning an honourable mention on our all-time list. But Kuoppa was the first Finnish archer to go to the Olympics since Matti Hatava won a single men’s recurve spot for Beijing. 

“There’s been a little more interest since, and it’s nice to see how archery has been more on TV and in the papers and stuff. It’s good to see people coming to the club and wanting to know more, wanting to start. Although everybody still says “it’s more difficult than it looks,” she said. 

“In women it’s still kind of just me at the moment, but we have some very promising juniors coming up. The men are practising hard. It’s going well.”

What makes Taru different?

“I’m really proud of my rhythm [of my shot cycle]. It’s the thing I have that comes naturally. It tells me how I’m feeling, because when I get nervous it slows down. I know if I focus on my rhythm, everything will go well. I’m improving my mental game all the time,” she said.

Recurve archers at Hyundai Archery World Cup events often leave their bows partially set-up throughout the week. Kuoppa’s bow has two colourful socks on each end of the riser, to protect the paintwork.

“I stole them from my son,” she said laughing.

In Antalya, Taru hopes – above all else – to be able to leave her brain off the line and find the “right way physically and mentally to get arrows into the middle”.

Now semi-professional, she is considering the future: “As long as it’s still fun and I enjoy it, I’ll keep competing. Tokyo will be my goal, I think. But I will have to still be enjoying it.”

The second stage of the 2017 Hyundai Archery World Cup runs 6 to 11 June in Antalya, Turkey.