Kim Woojin shot another new world record in 2016, this time at Korea’s 48th National All-Star Tournament.
He increased the 36-arrow 30-metre world-leading mark to 360 26X – out of a possible 360 36X – just weeks after becoming the first recurve archer to break the 700-point barrier during the Olympic ranking round.
The previous 30-metre world record was 360 24X, jointly-held by Lee Seungyun and Kim Bubmin, since the end of 2015.
When a world record is set at a perfect score, subsequent world records can be claimed on the number of Xs shot. The X is a ring in the very centre of the target, inside the 10, that helps determine tiebreakers during the ranking round.
Woojin’s 360 26X score translates as 26 arrows in the X-ring, which measures four centimetres in diameter, and 10 arrows outside the X but within the eight-centimetre 10-ring.
“I am actually aiming centre of the gold area rather than X itself,” Woojin explained.
As of September 2016, Woojin owns three of the six available recurve men’s world records in outdoor archery: The 30-metre 36-arrow mark, the 70-metre ranking round and the 1440 Round, with 1391.
“If I had them all it would give me kind of feeling that I achieved something special,” he said. “But I never think about it.”
Kim Woojin, the reigning World Archery Champion, qualified top at his first Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, but suffered a shock defeat in the second round of competition.
“The Olympics is not my only goal in archery. I am still an archer that wants to shoot and I believe that an archer has to do their best whenever they shoot for any competition,” he said.
Woojin shoots in the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final on 24/25 September 2016 in Odense, Denmark.
