Technical Details
Bows - Made from laminations of wood with carbon fibre, fibreglass, ceramic or
hard foam. Competitors may use a sighting device on their bows but this must not
contain a lens or magnifying glass. The bows also have stabilisers with shock-absorbing weights.
Arrows - Each arrow has a shaft made of carbon or aluminium with a steel head
and 'fletchings' (vanes to assist in flight).
Targets - Targets used in the Olympic Games are 122cm and 80cm in diameter and competitors stand at a distance of 70m from the target. The target consists of
five coloured rings, each divided into an inner and an outer, the colour sequence from the bull is: gold, red, blue, black and white. The archer scores
10 for an inner gold, down to 1 for an outer white. Targets are 3 metres apart (centre to centre) for the individual competition and 6 metres apart for team competition.
Five facts
1) The use of the bow and arrow dates back to the Ancient Egyptians and was
used in battle in Europe until the 1500s.
2) International competitions in archery began with Anglo French matches
around 1900.
3) Archery first appeared in the Olympic programme in 1900. It was also part
of the 1904, 1908 and 1920 Games but did not reappear again until 1972. Team
events in archery were added in 1988.
4) Britain's Sybil Fenton Newall won the gold medal for archery in 1908 and at
the age of 53 is the oldest woman ever to win an Olympic gold medal.
5) Great Britain has won a total of two golds, two silver and five bronze
medals for archery.
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