(Olympics) Under weight of expectations, Olympic debutantes rise to occasion in archery

Representing South Korea in archery at an Olympics isn’t for the faint of heart.

Expectations are on a wholly different level than many other sports. Anything less than a gold medal is considered a failure, but none more so than in the women’s team event, where South Korea has literally never lost.

Imagine the kind of pressure felt by those female archers. Their pursuit is less about trying to win another gold for the country, but more about trying to avoid becoming the first ones to fail to win the team gold medal.

They say all good things must come to an end, and South Korea’s undefeated run in the Olympic women’s archery team event will suffer that fate at some point.

But a trio of first-time Olympians for South Korea, Jeon Hun-young, Nam Su-hyeon and Lim Si-hyeon, made sure the streak would not end Sunday in Paris.

South Korea defeated China 5-4 in a thrilling shoot-off in the gold medal match at Invalides. The team events are contested in sets, with three archers each taking two arrows per set for their team for a perfect score of 60.

A set win is worth two points, and a tie is worth one point. The first team to reach five points by the fourth set wins.

South Korea led 4-0 before China won the next two sets to pull into a 4-4 tie and force the shoot-off. Each archer took one shot, and South Korea won 29-27 thanks to 10s hit by Jeon and Lim.

All three archers were overcome with emotion afterward, offering a peek at just how much pressure had weighed on them.

“I’d be lying if I said we didn’t feel that burden,” Lim said, choking back tears. “We all sensed the weight of expectations of going for our 10th straight gold. And I think all three of us did a tremendous job overcoming that pressure. I am grateful that we’ve become a part of Korean archery history.”

Though the final was a nail-biter, Jeon insisted she never once doubted herself or her teammates.

“I didn’t ever think we would lose,” she said. “I was too locked in to be thinking about the score or the final result. I was just concentrating on every arrow, and I trusted in my teammates and in the work I’ve put in to get here.”

The makeup of this year’s team led many to wonder if that Olympic winning streak could be kept alive. Jeon had almost no international experience despite being 30 years old. Nam, 19, was barely out of high school and also had no international track record to speak of. Lim, as the triple gold medalist at last year’s Asian Game, would have to do the heavy lifting, even though Lim herself was making her Olympic debut at 21.

Lim and Nam enjoyed excellent starts to their first Olympics, by finishing first and second in the ranking round Thursday. Lim even set a world record by scoring 695 points out of a possible 720.

Jeon, on the other hand, finished 13th.

Concerns that Jeon would be a weak link appeared justified in South Korea’s first match Sunday, in the quarterfinals against Chinese Taipei. Jeon had some shaky moments, going 8-8-8-7-8 with her first five arrows, and South Korea won two of the sets by a single point in an eventual 6-2 victory.

South Korea needed a shoot-off to knock off the Netherlands in the semifinals before getting pushed to the brink by China in the final. But that’s when Jeon stepped up, and her opening 10 in the shoot-off was easily the biggest shot of her life. She led South Korea with six 10s in the final.

Lim struggled with back-to-back 8s in the fourth set as the final archer for South Korea, when a 10 with her second arrow would have given South Korea the gold without the shoot-off. But she regrouped in time for the closing 10 in the shoot-off.

In the semifinals, it was Nam’s 10 as the second archer that gave South Korea enough of a cushion that Lim’s uncharacteristic 7 didn’t affect the outcome.

All told, all three did their part, coming up clutch in different moments. As a result, one of the longest winning streaks in Olympic history is alive and well.

Nam thanked her two older teammates for giving her moral support.

“I was able to shake off the pressure because of them,” she said. “I was nervous, but I also knew I had prepared myself for this moment. I also had a lot of trust in my teammates.”

Jeon revealed that the three archers had discussed how they should celebrate their gold medal on the podium. Jeon and Nam formed a heart with their arms, while Lim, the tallest of the three, crouched in between the two and formed another heart with her hands.

Given how superstitious they are, athletes typically don’t get ahead of themselves and plan victory ceremonies, lest they jinx themselves. That these South Korean archers did so showed you how confident they felt about their chances, despite some skepticism.

“We just kept thinking positive thoughts,” Jeon said. “If you keep positive thoughts on your mind, then good things will happen.”

Jeon could now laugh about the outside noise surrounding her team and particularly her presence on the team.

“I think I would have been worried, too, because I was basically a nobody,” Jeon said with a smile. “Well, I got picked for the team. So I might as well go out and do my best.”

Lim said she appreciated being designated as the nominal ace of the trio.

“I knew I had to live up to that label,” Lim said. “And that really pushed me, and I am glad things turned out great.”

By winning the ranking round, Lim will represent South Korea in the mixed team event. With the individual event also coming up, Lim has a chance to win three gold medals in Paris.

“I’ve taken a big first step,” Lim said. “I will try to lean on this experience from the team event and do my best in the remaining events.”