Iconic London venue on target for Olympic archery

More than 100 of the world's best archers have taken part in the London Archery Classic at the city’s iconic Lord’s cricket ground, which will host the archery events during next year’s Olympic Games.

The week-long tournament, which was held from 3-10 October, gave the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) the chance to test key aspects of its Games-time operations, including running the competition on a single range during the elimination rounds and a new scoring system, which will debut at London 2012.

The first day of competition was ignited by South Korea’s Im Dong-Hyun, who broke his own 72-arrow world record by scoring 693 in the ranking round, exceeding his previous record by two points.

Im eventually lost to USA’s world number one Brady Ellison in the men’s individual tournament, while the USA also enjoyed success in the men’s team event.

South Korea’s Jung Dasomi won the women’s individual title after also triumphing with her compatriots in the women’s team event.

Tom Dielen, Secretary General of World Archery, was delighted with how the tournament went and is looking forward to returning to the famous venue during next year’s Olympic Games.

“World Archery is very excited about holding Olympic archery in this fantastic venue,” he said. “The athletes, staff and volunteers all fell in love with Lord's and we can't wait for Lord's to become the home of archery next summer.”

Chris Marsh, LOCOG’s Competition Manager, was also pleased with the tournament.

“The event has been a brilliant success,” he said. “I’m very happy. I have tested everything I have wanted to test and everyone has performed brilliantly. Two years of planning have been really worth it.”