KIM Soo-Nyung (KOR): “Logical developments rather than changes”

The legendary KIM Soo-Nyung (KOR) is working as a Media Director for the World Archery Championships Ulsan 2009. We had the pleasure to sit down with her for a little interview.  
KIM Soo-Nyung was the Seoul 1988 Olympic Champion. She later won a silver in Barcelona and bronze in Sydney. During these three Games, she also won the team Olympic gold three times! At the world championships, she won the individual and team gold medals (1989, 1991) twice. In 1989 during the World Championships in Lausanne, she set the world record for a FITA Round at 1368, which was considered unbreakable for a long time.
It’s a real pleasure to meet with you. What have you been doing since you retired from high level archery? After the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, I just relaxed for a while. I stayed home and raised my children. I have now a 14 year old daughter and 10 y.o. son. Nowadays, I am a sports marketing student in graduate school and I also give some lectures.
Please take us a bit through your career. What was your best moment? I started at 10 y.o. and at the age of 15 I was trying to shoot perfectly. I think I reached my peak at 18, when I won the Olympic Games in Seoul. At that time I thought I could stay among the top archers for five years, between 1988 and 1992. After the Barcelona Games, I stopped shooting competitively until 1998. I came back in 1999 and I realized I could still compete at the top level. Then my goal was to go to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
When I was shooting, I often thought that I was lucky. After the fact, I must admit that I was well-prepared at every moment of my career and I was able to take the opportunities whenever they came.
How did you adapt from the FITA Round to the 12-arrow matches that were introduced in 1992? At first, I had troubles with the matches. I thought I could not handle the short-time pressure. However, when I came back in 1999-2000, I realized that it was possible. I had to adapt my mind to it. Although I did not win the individual gold at the Sydney Games, I won other international competitions that year and I was happy with the way I was shooting.
What do you prefer: your family/student life or your athlete’s life? Of course, it’s really different. In some ways, the athlete’s life is easier because you mainly have to care about shooting. However, it is difficult to perform at the high level for a long time. It took me some time to adapt after my sport retirement but it is fine.
As an Olympic champion, do you still receive a lot of recognition from the people in Korea? In the archery world many people know me of course, but in normal life not so many still recognize me.
How did you get involved with these world championships? The Korean Archery Association asked me to come and help. I was used to the media when I was an archer and I also did some TV commentating, for instance at the Beijing Games. However, it is another story to be on the other side, to organize the media work on site with all the cameramen and the photographers present at these world championships.
What do you think of the recent changes in FITA: the World Cup, the increased media interest, the special venues for finals? I consider that these are more logical developments than changes. FITA is always trying to do better and I hope it continues this way.
In Korea as well, there is development. We have had a pro league for at least 20 years and the interest has risen throughout the years. Of course the Olympic Games, the world championships will always be the centre of attention. Compared to others, our sport is still perceived a bit too much as static. There is more action in short track speed skating for example. Our sport is more focused on results. It is harder for archery to connect to the outside community, but we will keep trying.
What is your wish for these world championships? Nothing in particular for these world championships. I hope we have other big events like this every year, maybe a world championship every year.
Thank you very much for the interview!
Didier MIEVILLE FITA Communication