Lopez recognised as most successful female archer of all time
Today is International Women’s Day and to celebrate, the world-renowned Guinness World Records is shining a light on the legendary Sara Lopez.
She’s been named ‘Officially Amazing’, with the organisation highlighting her as not only the most successful female archer but the winningest archer in the history of the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final, having collected a record sixth title in 2021.
(She also won the event in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019.)
In addition to those two Guinness World Records, Lopez currently also holds three World Archery-ratified compound women’s world records:
- 50-metre qualification round: 713/720
- 1440 Round: 1424/1440
- 50-metres (36 arrows in 1440 Round): 356/360
Sara was also the first woman to shoot a perfect 150-point match, but her 150 10X record has since been broken.
Lopez is truly a legend of modern-day archery.
In November, she set a new record in the World Cup-era of spending the longest total amount of days as world number one, 1196 – and that run has since continued for a further four months.
After winning her first individual world title, she was named Colombia’s best non-Olympic athlete of 2021. Then earlier this year, with nearly 20,000 votes, she finished in the top 10 of the World Games’ athlete of the year public ballot for 2021, and was named compound woman archer of the year at the 2021 World Archery Americas Awards.
Before becoming the best compounder in the world, Lopez played different sports, including tennis, swimming and basketball, but fell in love with archery at the age of 13 after following her brother to the range.
She has now won 27 golds, seven silver and six bronze medals across all competitions on the Hyundai Archery World Cup; seven gold, one silver and one bronze at youth and senior world championships; champion titles at the World and Pan American Games; and multiple titles at major regional events in the Americas.
“Impossible does not exist. It is worth dreaming big, no matter where you come from or what your physique is like,” says Lopez.
“If you want to achieve something that is apparently impossible, surround yourself with people who dream big like you and together achieve goals. In life, there are thousands of people who will tell you that you can't, but only you are aware of your capabilities.”
Read the full article on the Guinness World Records Spanish-language website, where the organisation left a message for Lopez:
“Congratulations Sara,” they said. “We hope you continue to inspire the world with your great talent and that you can break many more records.”
The upcoming season of the Hyundai Archery World Cup will be the 10th since the breakout year for Sara, Alejandra Usquiano, and the Colombian compound women on the world circuit. Time flies!
