Beijing Olympic Games

Updated: 2008-08-14 20:23:17

(BEIJING, August 14) — The Republic of Korea trio of Im Dong-hyun, Park Kyung-mo and Lee Chang-hwan advanced in the Individual Elimination Rounds on Wednesday, and each hopes to become their country’s first Men’s Individual Olympic gold medalist.

Lee, the No. 10 seed, broke the 12-arrow Olympic record when he shot 117 out of 120 points on Wednesday morning, the first day of Men’s Individual Elimination matches.

Park also demonstrated impressive accuracy, shooting 116 on Wednesday afternoon. He is the No. 4 seed.

Im, the No. 8 seed, will look to improve on his sixth-place finish in Athens in 2004. Im is the reigning world champion.

Other top contenders include Jacek Proc of Poland who was the first archer to break the Olympic record at these games, shooting a 116 in his first Elimination match on Wednesday.

Juan Rene Serrano of Mexico also surprised the field by placing first in the Ranking Round. Serrano was the other archer to shoot 116 in the qualification rounds on Wednesday and aims to win Mexico’s first archery Olympic medal.

Also to note is Russia’s Baljinima Tsyrempilov, the No. 6 seed, who moved through to the top 16 as expected. Tsyrempilov is the 2007 World Cup Final Champion and the 2008 European Champion.

Victor Wunderle of the United States, the Individual silver medalist at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, will look to get back on to the podium after finishing eight in the Athens Games.

The competition will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, August 15 at the Olympic Green Archery Field.