Denise PARKER

Denise Parker was an archery prodigy who competed at three Olympic Games for the United States – 1988, 1992, and 2000 – and she was only 14-years-old when competing at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Through 2016 she remained the youngest ever Olympic archer. She started shooting arrows at age 10 and won her first state title one year later. She actually competed at the 1987 Pan American Games at age 13, winning golds in both individual and team. She would compete again at the Pan Ams in 1991, 1995, and 1999, eventually winning 15 medals, 12 of them gold, both Pan Am records for an archer. Despite her excellence as a youth, Parker also played soccer, basketball, and softball in high school.

After missing the 1996 Olympic team, Parker left the sport for two years, but returned in 1998 and made it to the Sydney Olympics, but had her worst individual Olympic finish. After the 2000 Olympics she entered archery administration, first working in public relations for the sport, but she eventually became CEO of USA Archery in 2009.