Richard JOHNSON (USA): “Atlanta 1996 remains a memory that I will treasure for the rest of my life”

 Your last appearance in an international competition was at the Arizona Cup in March 2012. Were you trying to qualify for the London Olympic Games?   I had already completed the first of three Olympic Trial events and was ranked third at that time. My objective was to start the outdoor season with a good performance. The United States organise each year 4 to 5 outdoor national events where the best archers meet. In 2012, my goal was to train and compete at a high level, especially at the Olympic Trial events in April and June, with the aim of qualifying. My second goal was to boost my national ranking, in order to join the 2013 World Cup national team. There are many reasons why I did not qualify for the London Olympic Games. The first is simply that the three archers who qualified shot better than I did at the second and third trial events. Though I had trained with dedication, I had a difficult second trial event and I could not come back at the ranking. After the trials were over, I realised that an involuntary change arose little by little within my shooting technique. When I fixed the problem, it was too late to qualify for the Olympic team but I finished our National Championships with a 1345 FITA round score and 4th at the national ranking, enough to qualify for the 2013 World Cup stages.   You participated in five editions of the Olympic Games. What is your best memory?   I participated in the 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. By far, my best memory is our team victory at Atlanta 1996 with my teammates Justin HUISH and Rodney WHITE. Shooting as we did, under a tremendous pressure and hearing the American fans clamouring when we won the gold medal remains a memory that I will treasure for the rest of my life. The pride to have won the gold medal for my country is indescribable.  Let’s come back to the team final at the Atlanta Games that you shot against Korea: there was this last uncertain arrow for the United States and an unexpected 6 from Korea’s KIM Bo Ram in the last end. What was the atmosphere like in your team?   We were definitely tense. We felt our arrow was in but you can never be sure. By that moment, we did not realise that one of the Korean arrows was out and we were therefore concentrating on making a shoot-off. When the scoreboard changed, we were full of joy. It is an incredible feeling to represent the United States on the highest step of the Olympic podium. It was a great honour for me and these feelings of excitement and pride will always remain as one of the greatest moments of my life.   After such a long career, what keeps you to continue competing?   I still love archery. I always said that if I did not have fun anymore, I would quit. Forty-two years later, I am still competing and fun is still there. I think it has helped me to shoot in compound with finger release for many years, and then switching to recurve. I occasionally compete in some compound competitions for fun. Though I train hard, archery is not all about it. I train at home, have a job and some other activities that I like, such as motorcycle riding and taking care of my house. I still enjoy training and competing with friends at tournaments.   Did you follow Brady ELLISON, Jake KAMINSKI and Jacob WUKIE’s Olympic journey on TV, and what do you think about the silver medal they won in the team event?   Yes, I was very happy for the team after their very tough victory in the semifinal. Even if I was not there with them, I was in thinking and I would have been very proud to come back home with an Olympic medal, regardless of the colour. It would have been amazing to see the gold medal come back to the USA after so many years but I am proud of them and they must be proud of themselves.  Richard JOHNSON (centre) with 1996 Olympic teammates J. HUISH (left) and R. WHITE Exceptional US archers emerge every fifteen years. Story started with 1972 Olympic champion John WILLIAMS (first gold medallist when archery was reintroduced at the Olympic Games), then 1976 and 1984 Olympic champion Darrell PACE, Rick MCKINNEY, Ed ELIASON, 1988 Olympic champion Jay BARRS, you, 1996 double Olympic gold medallist Justin HUISH, and now Brady ELLISON… In your opinion, what makes these archers’ skills?   I think that sometimes sport produces archers who combine natural talent, motivation to do well, willingness to put in all of the hard work and all the determination to be strong. When an archer becomes successful, he gets confident, which can help him in getting more victories. Moreover, every archer’s generation can inspire the next one.   Do you think that archery is now living its moment of glory with media showing an increasing interest and its presence in movies and advertisements? Or is it the prelude of an even better future?   I think and hope that it is just the beginning. After the 1996 Olympic Games, the interest for archery increased strongly but without reaching the level of 2012. I think that movies like The Hunger Games, along with the silver medal won by the US Olympic team, bring good things to our sport. I work in an archery material shop and I am also a coach, and we are overflowed with requests for youth archery classes and lessons.   Jean-Denis GITTON