1 August 2008 - Victor WUNDERLE (USA): “We have a team for a gold medal”

Victor WUNDERLE (USA): “We have a team for a gold medal” July 2008   I qualified for my third United States Olympic Team and will have the honour of representing my country in China this August. I qualified through a complicated trials procedure that included three series of competitions that ended in May. After the trials, I took two weeks off with rest and light training; and I went home to visit my family that I had not seen since Christmas. Then the work began again for the Olympic training.   Getting to the Olympics isn’t something you can do by yourself. Many people have helped to give me this opportunity. I want to say thank you to my friends, family, and sponsors that have helped to make my Olympic dreams reality.   In the Sydney 2000 Olympics I was fortunate to win an individual silver medal and a team bronze medal. We had a great team and gave a great performance. In 2004, Athens was a bittersweet experience for me. In my individual quarterfinal, I lost by one point to Marco Galiazzo, who went on to win the gold. At one point in the match when it was my 40 seconds to shoot, the wind was very strong and would not let up. With about 10 seconds left on the clock, I aimed right in the 5 ring and hit low left in the 8 ring. Seconds later the wind stopped and Marco shot a 10. On my last arrow of the match, I needed a 10 to tie. My form felt like I shot a 10 but the wind took the arrow to the 9 ring. The wind was just not my friend that day but Marco gave a gold medal performance of which he can be very proud.  In the Athens team event, the US men’s team beat the strong Italian team that was then comprised of the reigning Indoor World Champion (Di Buo), the reigning Outdoor World Champion (Frangilli), and the reigning Olympic Champion (Galiazzo.) I felt our team was shooting good enough to win the gold medal that day, but in the end, we came up just one point short of advancing to the gold medal match and then missed the bronze medal by two points. In the Athens Olympics, even though I came home without a medal, I felt like I gave a gold medal performance.   I am very excited about our team’s chance for a medal in Beijing. We already have four Olympic medals on the men’s team, and one of our team members hasn’t even been to a Games yet! He has however, won an Indoor Youth World Championship with a compound bow and our Olympic trials. We have the perfect blend of youth, talent, composure, and experience. We are good friends and work well together. There is no one else I would rather have shooting on my team in China than Butch and Brady. I have an Olympic bronze and silver. It is no secret that I want to win the gold. I believe we have a team that is capable of doing it. Read my biography... Victor "Vic" Wunderle (USA)