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South Korean archer An San competes in the women's ranking round at the Tokyo Olympics at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo on Friday. (Yonhap) |
TOKYO -- South Korean archer An San set an Olympic record to win the women's ranking round of the Tokyo Olympics on Friday, while giving herself a shot at capturing three gold medals in the process.
An, 20, scored 680 out of a possible 720 points in the ranking round at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in the Japanese capital.
Archers each fired 72 arrows, 36 in each half.
An's two teammates rounded out the top three. Jang Min-hee finished second with 677 points, and Kang Chae-young ended with 675 points.
All three South Koreans broke the previous Olympic record score of 673, set by Lina Herasymenko of Ukraine in 1996.
Thanks to the top individual score, An will represent South Korea in the mixed team event Saturday. She will partner with the top South Korean male archer, to be determined in the men's ranking round scheduled for later Friday.
The mixed team event has been added to the Olympics for the first time here. An is also set to compete in the women's team and women's individual events, meaning she has a chance to grab three gold medals in her first Olympics.
"It means a lot to me to break the record in my first Olympics," An said at her press conference. "I don't think I am the best in the field here. I was only trying to do my best, and I am happy that I was able to post a good score."
Jang and Kang both made a run for the top spot in the second half, but An held steady, shooting nothing but 10s and 9s with her final 12 arrows.
"They were announcing ranking positions every time we took out our arrows from the target, and I tried not to get too nervous," An said. "I stopped paying attention to the rankings, and I think that helped me in the end."
South Korea earned the top seed for the women's team competition, with the trio's combined score of an Olympic record 2,032 points. Mexico was next with 1,976 points.
The previous Olympic record of 2,004 points was set by South Korea at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. South Korea also owns the world record with 2,053 points. (Yonhap)
