Olympic History: Archery
One of the oldest arts, the earliest drawings of a bow and arrow date back about 5000 years ago in Egypt. The bow and arrow are considered one of the most important cultural advances made by man, and were originally used for hunting and as weapons of war.
The Egyptians innovated arrowheads, originally constructed of flint but then were later made of bronze. Around 1500 BC, the Assyrians developed the shorter recurve bow, which provided more power and easier handling. The same basic design principle is used in today's Olympic archery competitions, but the recurve has been refined, with fiberglass, carbon graphite and aluminum now being the materials of choice.
As gunpowder replaced the bow and arrow as the world's primary weapon, archery became more of a sporting pastime. In 1900, the sport first appeared in the Olympics Games in Paris. It was also contested at the Games of 1904, 1908 and 1920. Archery events in these early Olympic Games varied widely.
Archery was dropped from the program until the 1972 Munich Games because of the lack of uniform international rules. The Federation Internationale de Tir a l'Arc (FITA), the international governing body of the sport, was founded in 1931 and implemented standardized rules for competition. It allowed the first World Championship to be held that same year.
After countries adopted the rules, it led the reinstatement of the event at the Games. The United States has dominated men's archery since then, winning six of a possible 10 gold medals.
March 23, 2000
