NICHOLS AIMS TO FULFILL DREAM YOUNG ARCHER BEST U.S. HOPE FOR BREAKING S. KOREAN STREAK.Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer Rarely do childhood Christmas gifts change a life as much as the present Jennifer Nichols Jennifer Nichols (born October 4, 1983) is an archer from the United States. Nichols represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She placed 19th in the women's individual ranking round with a 72-arrow score of 638. received from her father as an 11-year-old. Nichols fell in love with archery while trying out the bow her father bought for her at Wal-Mart. Within a few years, she was competing nationally and now as a 20-year-old, she is the youngest and most promising member of the U.S. Olympic archery team. Nichols, who aims to become the first American First American may refer to:
tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin task ahead of her in Athens as she attempts to make a dent in South Korea's medal monopoly. South Korean women have won the individual gold at every Olympics since 1984 - they swept the 2000 individual medals - and have won every team gold since the category was first designated in 1988 at the Seoul Games. From the 2000 Olympics, all three of their individual medalists, led by 21-year-old Yun Mi-Jin
Yun Mi-Jin (born April 30 1983) is an archer from South Korea. She holds the Olympic record for a women's 18-arrow match, at 173 out of a possible 180. , are back. Nichols is a first-time Olympian, but not a newcomer to international success. Last year, she was the World Archery Festival champion, World Indoor Championship silver medalist, and the individual and team gold medalist at the Pan American Games Pan American (Sports) Games Quadrennial sports festival. The games, conceived in 1940 as an event for the nations of the Western Hemisphere, were first held in 1951. , where she set two event records in the process. Nichols was named the 2003 USA Archery Female Athlete of the Year Athlete of the Year
Nichols, who honed her craft shooting with her family in the backyard of their home in Cheyenne, Wyo., first considered the notion of competing in the Olympics when she was 15 and a coach told her she had the potential for such an achievement. Nichols initially took the comment as a compliment, but the idea eventually grew into a dream. Nichols' optimism for Athens is boosted by her success with a recurve bow A recurve bow is a form of bow defined by the side-view profile; in contrast to the simple longbow, a recurve bow has tips that curve away from the archer when the bow is unstrung. , a traditional bow without the pulleys and cables of a compound bow A compound bow is a modern bow that uses a levering system of cables and usually cams and pulleys to draw the limbs back. The limbs of a compound bow are usually much stiffer than those of a recurve bow or longbow. . U.S. archers won four of six individual medals in compound-bow events at the World Outdoor Championships in July, but that does not do much for Olympic hopes because only recurve bows are used in the Games. Top-ranked Nichols is the only one of the nations's top-five ranked women to qualify for the Olympics. She will be joined on the U.S. team by 50-year-old, three-time Olympian Janet Dykman Janet Dykman (born January 17, 1954) is an athlete from the United States, who competes in archery. Dykman represented the U.S. at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She placed 44th in the women's individual ranking round with a 72-arrow score of 619. and first-timer Stephanie White. Although the U.S. women have not claimed Olympic gold since 1976, this year's men's roster already has gold-medal experience. Veteran Butch Johnson is making his fourth Olympic appearance, with previous berths resulting in a team gold in 1996 and team bronze in 2000. Vic Wunderle returns after winning the individual silver in 2000. Since archery was reinstated as an Olympic sport in 1972, the U.S. men have medaled at every Olympics except 1992. Heather Gripp, (818) 713-3607 heather.gripp(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): box Box: ARCHERY |
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