article by Nicholas Pucci
At the dawn of the new millennium, or when the five-circle calendar schedules the Sydney 2000 Games, the Italian archers have captured three bronze medals since 1972 when archery was admitted to the Olympic forum: with Giancarlo Ferrari in the individual race in Montreal in 1976 and in Moscow in 1980, and in the team event in Atlanta in 1996, when Matteo Bisiani, Michele Frangilli and Andrea Parenti finished behind the United States and South Korea.
In Australia it is therefore time for Italy to improve those placings however of enormous international value, obtaining a prestigious silver medalwaiting for that Marco Galiazzo to appear in the limelight, the “Robin Hood d’Italia“, which four years later, in Athens 2004, will break the golden spell.
To the same Michele Frangilli, tenth in the individual competition, and Matteo Bisiani, eliminated in the 16th finals, already present four years earlier, in Sydney is added Ilario Di Buò from Triestealso eliminated in the second round, who takes the place of Andrea Parenti, but the performance of the blue trio is equally up to expectations, which in truth are high given that the blue archers, exactly one year earlier, won the gold medal at the World Championships in Riomin France, beating South Korea in the final.
The race is scheduled for September 24, al Sydney International Archery Parke 14 countries compete, with the ranking for the compilation of the knockout table determined by the sum of the scores obtained by three athletes per team in a qualifying series held on 16 September, and also valid for the assignment of seedings in the individual competition. So that South Korea and the United States, the two formations that dominated in Atlanta, are the first two favourites, advancing directly to the quarter-finals, while the other twelve teams challenge each other in a first round that sees Italy, number 6 in the draw , face France.
The three archers have three sets of three arrows each, for a total of 27 attempts, e for the blues the debut is comforted by a success that leaves no traces of uncertainty, 250 to 239while Sweden eliminated Olympic champion Simon Fairweather’s Australia, and Kazakhstan, by beating Norway, guaranteed the right to compete against Italy in the quarter-finals.
Own in the quarterfinals South Korea and the United States enter the race, which easily have Ukraine and Sweden, accessing the semifinals which also see Russia in the running, which surpasses Turkey by a measure, and Italy itself, which also overcomes the obstacle Kazakhstan for 249 to 245.
United States-Italy proposes exactly the same challenge as four years earlierwhen Justin Huish, Richard Jonhson and Rod White beat the blues to go on to seize the gold medal. This time, however, the Italian trio has better aim and with the score of 244 to 241 redeems the defeat at the time and qualifies for the decisive act, where South Korea awaits them, easy winner of Russia, 240 to 229for the replica of the world championship challenge of the previous year.
But this time a Jang Yong-Ho, Kim Chung-Tae e Oh Kyo-Moon (which was individual bronze in Atlanta, as well as team silver), after failing the individual test that saw them credited with the first three seeds, and unable instead to go beyond the quarterfinals, the hand does not tremble and they prove to be an insurmountable obstacle for the three blues. Frangilli is the most consistent with three tens and six nines, but Oh Kyo-Moon does even better with six tens and three nines, making him by far the best in the final match. It ends 255 to 247 for South Korea, which is deservedly Olympic champion, but Italy’s silver is a result that confirms the validity of the archery sector.
Just for the record, the United States climbs on the third step of the podiumwho beat Russia in the third-place play-off arrows match, but it’s already time to look beyond… the horizon is taking shape”Robin Hood“, and silver, at that point, will no longer be enough for the archers of Italy.