Featured athlete: YUN Ok-Hee

Olympic team champion and individual bronze medallist at Beijing 2008, YUN was left out of the London Olympic Games but made a successful come-back as the most consistent archer of the 2013 season. Following her victories at the Shanghai and Wroclaw stages and second place in Antalya, YUN was the top qualifier for this World Cup Final.

YUN Ok-Hee began her career in archery at the young age of 11. In an interview, she said it was watching the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta that really inspired her. Ten years after she started the sport, she made her first national team appearance and that year she finished second at the Asian Championships in both individual and team events.

One year later, for the launch of the World Cup, YUN won the individual and team events at the fourth stage in Shanghai. She also clinched the gold medal at the Asian Games in Doha and finished second individually. Since then, she has won several medals and titles at World Cup events (including two gold medals and two bronze medals in World Cup Finals), as well as at the Asian Championships and Asian Games.

YUN was 23 years old at the Beijing Olympic Games when she won the team gold medal and the individual bronze medal. She has since ascended to the top of the world rankings—n°1 in April 2011 and currently n° 2. She was also team World Champion in 2009 on home soil (Ulsan, Korea).

In her spare time YUN Ok-Hee enjoys reading and listening to music, but also is an advocate for promoting the historical legacy of Korean archery and has helped several Korean filmmakers accurately portray the sport.

She gives a great deal of credit to her heritage for her success. In an interview with New Korean Cinema, YUN argues that the achievements of Korean archers in Olympic and World Championships is evidence of this legacy: "Our sensitive fingertips handed down from our ancestors and our spiritual strength and willingness to fight to the very end are our secrets."

This in combination with her training (which includes bungee jumping and platform diving) have definitely made her one of the best archers in the world.

Read more: YUN Ok-Hee's biography.

World Archery Communication