From ancient to modern team competitions: how did archery get included in the Olympic Games? The Russian national team consists of Buryat archers Olympic archers

In the archery competitions at the 1980 Summer Olympics, two sets of medals were played out: in the individual championship for both men and women.

Krylatskoe. Archery tournament at the 1980 Summer Olympics

She won the women's tournament. By the way, this was the only Olympic gold in the history of Soviet archery.

The Finn took the lead in the men's competition. Tomi Poikolainen.

Awarding the medalists of the men's tournament. From left to right: Boris Isachenko (USSR) - 2nd place, Tomi Poikolainen (Finland) - winner, Giancarlo Ferrari (Italy) - 3rd place

At the Moscow Olympics, a historic event took place in the archery tournament: for the first time in Olympic history, the women's champion showed a higher result than the men's champion. Moreover, the silver medalist also scored more points than the male champion.

All winners:

Men
personal championship

1. Tomi Poikolainen (Finland) - 2455 points
2. Boris Isachenko (USSR) - 2452 points
3. Giancarlo Ferrari (Italy) - 2449 points.

Women
personal championship

1. Ketevan Losaberidze (USSR) - 2491 points
2. Natalya Butuzova (USSR) - 2477 points
3. Päivi Meriluoto (Finland) - 2449 points.

Archery is an Olympic sport in which athletes compete in archery accuracy. The winner in archery is the athlete or team that scores the most points, according to the rules of the competition. Archery competitions are held between both men and women.

History of the emergence and development of archery

The exact time of the appearance of the onion could not be established, as well as the place of its appearance. It is certain that people used bows at the end of the Stone Age and used them for hunting as weapons. Thanks to bows, people were able to obtain meat for themselves.

About 3 thousand years ago, the bow began to be used not only for hunting, but also as a weapon. Archers were highly valued as they could hit targets several hundred meters away. Later, bows were replaced by firearms, and it was during this period that sports archery began to develop.

In 1900, the first official archery competitions took place, and this happened at the second Olympic Games. Until 1972, this discipline was considered optional; in some years it was included in the program of the Olympic Games, but in others it was not. Despite the competitions held, there was no organization regulating archery. The International Archery Federation (FITA) was created only in 1931 in Poland, and it subsequently developed the rules for the competition.

In the mid-eighties, duels were introduced, which were supposed to increase the entertainment of the competition. In 1988, team competitions were added. Since 2000, the rules of archery have been constantly changing, and each Olympic Games comes with changes to the program.

Rules of archery

Archery competitions are held both outdoors and indoors. Shooting at competitions is carried out in series of 3 or 6 arrows. According to FITA standards, a series of 3 arrows is given 2 minutes, and a series of 6 arrows is 4 minutes.

At all competitions, qualifications are first carried out, and then, among the remaining athletes, according to the Olympic system, the winner is drawn. This system is also relevant for the World and European Championships.

Archery is conducted at FITA approved targets. Archery targets are made of paper with concentric circles of different colors depicted on it. Targets are attached to special shields, which are made of durable material that prevents arrows from passing through. The size of the target depends on the competition distance. Inside the “ten” there is another circle with half the diameter; it is necessary to resolve controversial situations of equality of points and to record world records.

Archery distances

Indoor shooting is carried out from distances of 18, 30 or 50 meters (for men and women).

Outdoors, the target distances are 30, 50, 70 and 90 meters for men and 30, 50, 60 and 70 meters for women. At the Olympic Games, archery is limited to a distance of 70 meters.

Equipment and equipment

The main element of equipment, naturally, is the bow. At official competitions under the auspices of FITA, two types of professional bows are used in target shooting:

Shooting from a (traditional) classic bow (recurve bow). The tension force of such a bow is about 15-20 kg. The arrow's flight speed reaches 240 km/h. This bow is used at the Olympic Games.
Compound bow shooting. Such bows use a special mechanism that provides the arrow with more correct acceleration and also facilitates the process of drawing the bow. Tension force is about 25-30 kg. The flight speed of an arrow from such a bow reaches 320 km/h.

A fully loaded bow typically weighs in the range of three and a half to four and a half kilograms.

Modern sports arrows are composite (tip, shaft, shank, fletching). Arrow fit is very important for archers. They must satisfy many individual qualities, primarily the length of the arms. The arrows are stored in a special arrow quiver.

A release is a trigger device. With its help, the archer grabs the bowstring and then, at the right moment, releases it. The release minimizes the grip area of the bowstring, which in turn reduces its deformation at full draw and thereby increases shooting stability.

Archery gauntlets are bracers that protect the archer's forearm from the blow of a bowstring.

Judging

The number of judges at the shields should not be less than three; usually one judge is appointed for 7 shields. The responsibilities of judges include:

Archery competitions at the Summer Olympics first appeared at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris and continued until the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp (with the exception of the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm), after which they were canceled, then resumed with the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and have since been included in the program of each subsequent Games. Competitions have always been held among both men and women (except for the 1900 and 1920 Games, where only men competed). In this sport, 4 sets of awards are awarded. The central governing body of archery as a sport in the world is FITA (Fédération Internationale de Tir à l’Arc - International Archery Federation (French)).

FITA (Federation internationale de tir a l, arc) - international archery federation, created in 1931, unites 140 national federations (2008), headquarters - Lausanne, Switzerland, president - Ugur Erdener (Turkey) (official language - English and French).

EMAU (European and Mediterranean Archery Union) - European and Mediterranean Archery Union. Founded in 1988.

Russian Archery Federation - President Vladimir Nikolaevich Yesheev.

Moscow Archery Federation - President Selivanov Vladimir Alekseevich.

The most common international disciplines in which the Olympic Games, World and European Championships are held are FITA target shooting from standard distances, which are discussed in the article. Less common are such types as field shooting, skiark (archery biathlon), figure target shooting, vertical target shooting, also under the auspices of FITA. FITA was created in 1931, World Championships also began to be held in 1931. By the mid-1950s, standard exercises M1 and M2 had developed and were included in the program of major competitions.

Archery has been an Olympic sport since 1900. In 1900, 1904, 1908 and 1920, the Games program included various non-standard disciplines (shooting from 50, 60, 80 yards and others). Since 1924, this event was excluded from the program due to the lack of general rules, and returned back from the 1972 Games with the M2 discipline in the individual championship.

In the USSR, archery has become a popular sport since the 1960s. In 1971, Emma Gapchenko became the world champion for the first time; large centers for the development of this sport appeared in Moscow, Central Asia, Transcaucasia and Transbaikalia. Soviet athletes achieved their greatest success at the Olympic Games in Moscow, where Ketevan Losaberidze became the champion in the women's individual championship.

Since the mid-1980s, new rules have been introduced in archery designed to add entertainment and dynamism - duels according to the Olympic system. Since 1988, team competitions have been added to the Olympic Games program. In the 1990-2000s, the rules were constantly changing. After the 2008 Olympics, further changes are planned to bring archery closer to biathlon. Scoring will be done on a hit-or-miss basis.

The strongest archers in the years 1950-1980 were part of the US team. Currently, the leadership in this sport belongs to athletes from South Korea, the USA, China, and Italy.

Since ancient times, people have used weapons such as bow for hunting or defense.

Moreover, after the advent of firearms, archery did not lose its relevance and in the 21st century is one of the sports included in the program of the Summer Olympic Games.

As an Olympic sport

This type of shooting has long history.

Story

Still in the past The first people used the bow as a tool for catching food. Later it began to be used as a weapon. At the same time, the best shooters fired 8-20 arrows per minute, hitting the target with each fired arrow.

In the Middle Ages, it was customary for European nations to hold shooting tournaments - for range and accuracy.

Moreover, among the Russian archers there were also famous shooters.

This kind of competition was actively held during various celebrations among many nations.

Reference! In ancient China during the Zhou Dynasty ( 1122-256 BC.) every noble man was required to perfectly master the minimum skills of archery - standing, on horseback and from a moving chariot.

After firearms appeared, such shooting began to develop in a sporting direction. This was facilitated by the Olympic movement.

For the first time as a shooting sport this kind of shooting was included into the program of the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris.

This sport did not remain on the Olympic program for long ( 1904 - London, 1908 - St. Louis, 1920 - Antwerp).

The created in 1931 International Archery Federation ( FITA). After its formation, world-class championships, international tournaments and regional championships began to be organized.

In 1988 The European and Mediterranean Archery Union was created and in 1992 Russian Archery Federation.

No competitions were held until 1972, since there were no uniform nationwide rules, while shooting was already approved for the Olympic program in 1958

Olympics

Beginning since 1972, archery is a compulsory competition included in the Olympic Games program. In the 80s are introduced duels according to the Olympic system to add entertainment to this sport.

Team competitions began since 1988, and then at each Olympics the shooting rules changed.

At the world level, personal and team competitions are held separately among men and women. Shooting is carried out on paper targets, established sample. They are a circle with rings of different colors, attached to a shield, and if hit, it is not allowed to be deformed or destroyed. Target diameter 1 m 22 cm, and the angle of inclination to the earth's surface is 10-15 degrees.

What are the bows for the game called?

Bows for competitions are divided into two types and are called as follows:

classical(Olympic) with tension force 15-20 kg and arrow flight speed up to 240 km/h;
block, provided with a special device to increase the tension force ( 25-30 kg) and higher arrow speed ( up to 320 km/h).

Arrows consist of a tip, shaft, shank and fletching and are made individually for each athlete.

At the Olympics, champions compete for four sets of medals - 2 for men and 2 for women. In this case, only the classic type of bow is used and only one distance (70 m). Based on the results of the games in the season, athletes are qualified for the Olympic Games, and teams are selected 3 participants.

Photo 1. A man shoots from a compound bow; this device has a high arrow speed.

In team competitions, each participant must do 72 shots. Then they take away 12 teams for 1/4 finals and determine the winning team according to the Olympic system (knockout), where each participant in the team must release 8 arrows

In the individual competition, athletes also do 72 shots but only 64 participants fall into 1/32 finals. Then, according to the Olympic system, the winner is determined by shooting at each stage 12 arrows

Attention! Archery is the only Olympic sport where athletes with disabilities can compete in the overall standings.

World Shooting Championship

One more from international world species The archery competition is the World Championship.

It is held every odd year outdoors and every even year indoors. The first competitions of this level were held in 1931 in Poland.

Such competitions are held indoors only since 1991.

Unlike the Olympic Games, both compound and classic bows are used in these competitions.

Various standard distances also apply. Indoors for men and women they are the same and amount to 18, 30 or 50 m. On open air: for men - 30, 50, 70 and 90 m, for women - 30, 50, 60 and 70 m. Shooting is carried out in series: 3 arrows in 2 minutes or 6 arrows in 3 minutes.

At any major competition, qualifications are first carried out, and then the winner is determined according to the Olympic system. For qualification use the “FITA circle”: 1 44 arrows - outdoors, 60 arrows - indoors. In the final, shooting is carried out from a distance 70 m 12 arrows in individual competitions and 24 arrows each in the team competition ( 8 arrows for each of 3 participants).

Tournaments

Other archery tournaments include:

Participants or teams are awarded points depending on their place, which go towards the overall standings.

The European Championship has been held since 1968 in even years. Competitions are also held between men and women, divided into personal, team and mixed with bows of any type.
Russian Championship, which was first organized in 1963. currently underway 2 times per year: in winter (indoors) - 60 arrows from a distance of 18 meters and in summer (open air) - at longer distances.

Reference! Archery-biathlon competitions are highlighted. In such competitions, the basic rules are borrowed from biathlon, only They use a bow instead of a rifle.

Various regional tournaments are also held within countries to popularize this sport.

In field shooting championships, any type of bow is used, and there are no differences by gender. Most often, such competitions are held outdoors, the targets have a non-standard appearance (animals) and are located at any distance and level. The winner is the one who scores the most points for hitting the target.

Champions' distance records

One of the most ancient and documented records for archery at range is distance at 534 m the archer Anaxagoras at the Olympic Games held in the Pontic city of Chersonesos in the 3rd century BC