BEIJING (BP)–U.S. archer Jenny Nichols tied an Olympic record in her opening-round win Aug. 12 over Indonesia’s Ika Yuliana Rochmawati, but she couldn’t build on that success.
Nichols fell to Japan’s Nami Hayakawa in the second round, ending her competition in the Beijing Olympics.
“My shots felt the same in the second match as they did in the first,” Nichols said. “It’s a tough break and hard to be out, but I think it’s the way it was meant to be. I obviously have more work to do.”
In her first match, Nichols tied the Olympic record of 114 points. In each match, each archer shoots 12 arrows, so a perfect score would be 120 points.
“I was just shooting one arrow at a time. I didn’t know what my score was, didn’t know what her score was,” Nichols said about her opening match. “I was kind of in a little bit of a haze, but I knew what I needed to focus on and that’s what I was doing.”
In her second match, Nichols and Hayakawa were tied at 95 after 11 arrows. Hayakawa fired a 10 on her last shot, and Nichols scored an eight.
Despite the loss, Nichols vowed to continue working to improve for future competitions.
“I have every intention of continuing in archery and competing on the world level again next year and just continuing to sharpen the skills,” she said.
The 24-year-old also intends to start college in January.
“I still don’t know where,” Nichols said. “I don’t know what I’ll be studying. But I do want to go into something new a little, but also keep a foot in archery.”
–30–
Tim Ellsworth, director of news and media relations at Union University, is covering the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing for Baptist Press. See the initial story on Nichols here.
