Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Womens Team Medal Matches

Mexico vs United States - Bronze Medal
A struggling trio of Mexicans went head to head against another consistent United States performance where the Americans once again found the nine early and often. A full house of nines saw the USA up 54-50 after the first end as Mexico were outside the gold rings on three shots. A single eight in the United States' fifth shot only gave them an extra two point advantage after the second end as their opponents found the bullseye but cancelled it out with a seven.

Mexico pulled themselves up to a competing level with just one eight, but this time their ten was matched by the USA leaving the scores 161-155 with one end remaining. It was too much to ask for Mexico as they returned to their inconsistent shooting. For their part the USA finished with another five nines to claim the bronze medals.

MEXICO									UNITED STATES
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	8	9	9	9	8	7	50		1	9	9	9	9	9	9	54
2	8	10	7	9	9	8	51		2	9	9	9	9	8	9	53
3	8	9	9	9	10	9	54		3	9	10	9	9	9	8	54
4	8	10	8	9	8	9	52		4	9	9	9	9	8	9	53
Total							207		Total							214

Korea vs Taipei
After an all North American match it was time to turn attention to the all Asian final. Korea stumbled out of the blocks with a six on the very first arrow. A seven and two eights would also score in the opening end and not even their ten could save them, leaving Taipei up 54-48 as they hit all gold except a lone seven on the final shot.

Korea pulled themselves together after that poor end and edged the Taipei archers in the second to claw back a point. Another high-scoring end from Taipei however left little doubt as to which way this match would go, Korea able to tie 55-55 with three tens but that still left them staring down a 162-157 scoreline.

Taipei extended their lead by another two points after three arrows in the final end and, obviously feeling relaxed, proceeded to end the match with a hat trick of tens becoming Olympic gold medalists.

KOREA									TAIPEI
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	6	9	8	7	10	8	48		1	9	9	10	10	9	7	54
2	9	9	10	9	8	9	54		2	9	10	8	8	9	9	53
3	8	10	8	10	9	10	55		3	8	10	9	9	10	9	55
4	8	9	8	10	9	10	54		4	10	8	9	10	10	10	57
Total							211		Total							219

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Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Womens Team Semifinals

Korea vs Mexico
The first semifinal was a hot mess, especially in the second end where both teams scored under fifty. Korea held a four point lead after the first with two late tens securing their advantage, but neither side would get inside the ten during the second end and only four nines between them were scored. Both teams had landed in the eight ring four times through the first half of the match, with several arrows scoring lower still.

Business picked up in the third thanks to a trio of bullseyes for Korea while Mexico continued to languish in the eights with only two gold-ringed shots to their credit. The final end was a similar story to guarantee a medal for Korea as they progress to the final leaving Mexico in the bronze medal match.

KOREA									MEXICO
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	9	8	9	8	10	10	54		1	9	8	7	8	9	9	50
2	9	8	8	9	7	6	47		2	8	7	7	9	8	9	48
3	10	10	9	8	8	10	55		3	10	8	9	8	8	8	51
4	9	10	10	9	9	7	54		4	10	9	9	8	7	8	51
Total							210		Total							200

Taipei vs United States
The United States had a unique look about their scoreline with four eights interrupting an otherwise clean sweep of nines. This kept them two points behind at the halfway stage as Taipei found the ten on two occasions. The all gold third ends extended Taipei's lead to four points as they hit another two bullseyes, and they repeated the performance in the fourth end to cement their place in the final to face Korea. USA will play Mexico for the bronze.

TAIPEI									UNITED STATES
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	9	10	9	8	8	9	53		1	9	9	9	8	9	8	52
2	8	9	9	10	8	9	53		2	9	8	8	9	9	9	52
3	10	9	10	9	9	9	56		3	9	9	9	9	9	9	54
4	10	9	10	9	8	9	55		4	9	9	9	9	9	9	54
Total							217		Total							212

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Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Womens Team Quarterfinals

Korea vs India
India lost a winnable match in the first end, hitting three sixes. They went on to beat the Koreans in the remaining three ends by a score of 167-162 but ultimately falling five shy of a winning score. Korea were not on song only hitting all gold in the second end, the other ends polluted with eights and seven; they hit the bullseye six times.

With seven tens and just a pair of eights India were the better team and would deservedly be competing for medals if not for that opening end score of forty-four.

KOREA									INDIA
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	8	9	9	10	9	8	53		1	9	9	6	6	8	6	44
2	10	9	9	9	9	10	56		2	9	10	10	9	9	10	57
3	10	8	8	7	9	9	51		3	9	10	9	9	9	9	55
4	9	9	10	10	8	9	55		4	9	10	10	8	10	8	55
Total							215		Total							211

Japan vs Mexico
Japan were unable to bring their from from the first round into their contest with Mexico. Whereas in their victory over the Ukrainians Japan managed to score 167 through three ends, only going outside the eight in the final end, here they managed to shoot seven sevens while Mexico hit nothing by 8-9-10.

Despite three sevens in the opening half Japan was tied with the Mexicans 106-106 with four tens, three of which came in the first end. Mexico hit a pair of tens and a mixture of eights and nines as they tried to find their groove. Neither side found the centre in the third end but Mexico's three eights trumped the triple sevens of Japan, and the golden fourth end for Mexico sealed their place into the semifinals where they will face Korea.

JAPAN									MEXICO
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	7	9	10	10	10	7	53		1	10	9	9	8	8	8	52
2	9	7	8	10	9	10	53		2	9	9	9	8	9	10	54
3	7	9	7	9	7	9	48		3	8	8	9	9	9	8	51
4	8	7	9	9	10	9	52		4	10	9	9	10	9	10	57
Total							206		Total							214

Taipei vs Russia
Russia were below par for this one with almost half of their shots (11/24) scoring eight, another two in the second end finding the six. This only made things easier for Taipei as they shot outside of the gold rings once through the first three ends, relaxing in the final go-round with the match won.

TAIPEI									RUSSIA
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	10	9	10	9	9	10	57		1	8	8	10	8	8	8	50
2	8	9	10	9	9	9	54		2	10	8	6	9	6	10	49
3	10	10	9	9	9	9	56		3	9	9	10	9	9	8	54
4	8	9	8	9	8	7	49		4	8	10	9	8	8	8	51
Total							216		Total							204

China vs United States
One team hit the bullseye five times, the other just twice and both found a pair of sevens. But the real difference came when the United States consistently found the nine; eighteen of their twenty-four arrows hitting the mark. On the other side, for every nine China hit they were finding an eight to go along with it and ultimately losing the match in the third end where they scored no tens but three eights and a seven. The USA did not need a maximum in the second half of the match as they only feel outside the nine twice.

CHINA									UNITED STATES
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	10	10	8	8	9	8	53		1	9	10	9	8	9	7	52
2	9	9	8	10	9	9	54		2	9	9	9	9	10	9	55
3	8	9	7	8	8	9	49		3	9	8	9	9	9	9	53
4	9	10	8	9	10	7	53		4	9	9	9	9	7	9	52
Total							209		Total							212

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Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Mens Team Medal Matches

United States vs China - Bronze Medal
The first archery medal of the London 2012 Olympics was decided here and both sides displayed their own level of consistency. China scored 54 in each of the first three ends with a pair each of sevens and eights to keep them chasing their opponents. For their part the American team averaged three tens in all four ends, faltering on a few occasions themselves to land arrows outside of the gold rings to keep things close.

An even first end saw both sides land in the seven but a third ten from the United States saving them from a rogue eight shot before they took the lead at the halfway stage with nothing but gold; China scrambling to recover from back-to-back eights putting them down 111-108.

The Chinese athletes pulled one back with both teams again landing in the seven and Team USA finding another eight, 164-162. Down to the final end and both teams were on song with nothing landing outside a nine, the Americans four bullseyes giving them an extra margin to claim the Bronze medals.

UNITED STATES									CHINA
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	10	7	10	9	10	8	54		1	9	9	10	10	9	7	54
2	9	9	10	10	9	10	57		2	9	10	8	8	10	9	54
3	10	9	10	7	9	8	53		3	9	10	7	9	10	9	54
4	10	9	9	10	10	10	58		4	10	9	9	9	9	10	56
Total							222		Total							218

Korea vs Mexico - Gold Medal
The Gold Medal match started with Mexico digging themselves into an early hole with only one ten and a pair of eights leaving Korea ahead 56-53. The deficit remained at three points midway through the match as both teams got into their grooves; another eight however preventing Mexico from making inroads on the scoreline.

The third end and Korea looked a little tight hitting the eight twice and they now had Mexico breathing down their necks 167-166 after another solid end from them despite yet another shot outside of the golden rings. These eights would be the story of the final with two more for Mexico taking their game total to six and they compounded the problem by only hitting a single ten for the second end in the match; Korea starting with an eight of their own but quickly regaining their composure to become Olympic Gold medalists.

KOREA									MEXICO
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	9	10	9	10	9	9	56		1	8	9	10	9	8	9	53
2	9	10	9	9	10	10	57		2	10	10	10	8	9	10	57
3	10	8	10	9	9	8	54		3	9	8	10	9	10	10	56
4	8	10	10	9	9	10	56		4	8	9	10	8	9	9	53
Total							223		Total							219

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Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Mens Team Semifinals

Korea vs United States
These two teams put on a high-class semifinal with a single eight in the match on either side. This coming in the first end that resulted in Korea leading 56-55 with no less than eleven tens each out of their twenty-four arrows. The second end started out well for the USA as they shot off four consecutive bullseyes to take a one point lead with the teams tying the third end with another three tens per side.

Korea just edged the final end with the United States needing to hit a second bullseye in the fourth frame with their last arrow and send the game into a shoot-off. The great form would only stay with one side, Korea hitting nothing but gold while the Americans faltered ever so slightly placing them into the Bronze medal match.

KOREA									UNITED STATES
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	10	9	9	8	10	10	56		1	8	9	10	9	9	10	55
2	9	9	10	9	9	10	56		2	10	10	10	10	9	9	58
3	10	9	9	9	10	10	57		3	9	10	10	9	10	9	57
4	9	10	10	9	9	10	57		4	9	9	10	9	9	10	56
Total							226		Total							226
Shoot-Off											Shoot-Off
KOREA			USA
1	10		1	9
2	10		2	9
3	9		3	8
Total	29		Total	26

CHINA vs MEXICO
The second semifinal was another tense affair that went down to the wire despite another bad start for China that saw them score just 51 with a seven and two eights, but once again they found a way to come back with four tens in the second end tying the match after two ends 109-109.

Mexico started the penultimate end with three consecutive bullseyes but a rogue seven aided China and kept the scores level 163-163 and it was onto another nailbiting final end. China had the initiative by hitting 10-9-9 and Mexico managing 8-8-10, but another seven for the Chinese, this one coming on their final shot, opened the door for Mexico to win. Their last arrow hitting the ten and taking them to the Gold medal match against Korea.

CHINA									MEXICO
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	7	8	9	8	10	9	51		1	8	10	10	8	10	9	55
2	10	9	10	10	9	10	58		2	9	10	7	9	10	9	54
3	9	10	9	8	9	9	54		3	10	10	10	7	8	9	54
4	10	9	9	8	9	7	52		4	8	8	10	9	8	10	53
Total							215		Total							216

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Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Mens Team Quarterfinals

Korea vs Ukraine
Team Korea easily make their way into the semifinals after their first match of the tournament, sweeping aside Ukraine by sixteen points. The victor's lone eight came in the first end while Ukraine hit a seven for a 57-54 scoreline. After that it was all gold rings for Korea extending their lead with each end while the Ukrainians struggled to keep up thanks to half a dozen eights and another seven.

KOREA									UKRAINE
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	10	10	9	10	8	10	57		1	9	10	10	9	9	7	54
2	10	9	10	9	10	10	58		2	9	10	8	9	8	9	53
3	10	9	9	10	9	9	56		3	10	8	8	7	9	8	50
4	10	9	9	10	9	10	57		4	8	9	9	9	10	10	55
Total							228		Total							212

India vs United States
Korea will face the Americans after they tried to blow their four point lead going into the final end by firing off a pair of sevens, one of which was barely enough to win the match on the final shot. India had a hard time finding the bullseye with four tens throughout, three of them coming in the second end. In comparison the United States hit six in the first half of the contest and they continued to stay just ahead after three ends despite no-one scoring a maximum.

The final end came with America leading 164-160, increasing this lead to 183-178 with four arrows per side remaining. An 8-9-10 from India pulled it back within three, USA shooting 7-9-9 and needing at least a seven to finish it off which they just about managed.

INDIA									UNITED STATES
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	9	8	9	9	9	9	53		1	10	9	9	8	9	10	55
2	10	9	10	10	9	9	57		2	10	9	10	10	10	9	58
3	8	8	9	8	9	8	50		3	9	9	9	7	8	9	51
4	9	9	8	9	10	9	54		4	9	10	7	9	9	7	51
Total							214		Total							215

China vs Italy
A terrible start from the Chinese left them facing a 56-49 scoreline after hitting a pair of sevens and no tens. Italy then found the seven in the second end while China picked it up to reverse their fortunes with four bullseyes and tie the scores 107-107. The teams remained deadlocked heading into the final end where nerves would be tested.

China had a point lead with three arrows left but could have held a match winning advantage after shooting 10-7-10 while the Italians managed 10-8-8. Both teams only found yellow rings with their final shots but Italy held their nerve to grab an extra ten over their rivals and take the match to a shoot-off where each athlete takes one final shot.

The lone ten of China was the difference maker despite starting out on a 8-9 deficit. The second arrows turned the scores around 18-17 with both ending in the nine to put China through into the final four and the chance to play either Mexico or France.

CHINA									ITALY
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	9	7	7	9	8	9	49		1	9	10	10	9	9	9	56
2	10	9	10	10	9	10	58		2	7	8	8	9	9	10	51
3	9	9	10	9	9	9	55		3	9	9	9	9	9	10	55
4	10	7	10	9	9	10	55		4	10	8	8	10	9	10	55
Total							217		Total							217
Shoot-Off
CHINA			ITALY
1	8		1	9
2	10		2	8
3	9		3	9
Total	27		Total	26

Mexico vs France
Mexico could count themselves lucky to be tied 51-51 after the first end as the third arrow scored a lowly five points as France hit the seven twice. This lifeline led to a four point lead at the halfway stage for Mexico as it was France's turn to low score hitting a six, and while the eventual winners kept their play up at a high level, France hit three more sevens to crash to a seven point defeat.

MEXICO									FRANCE
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	10	9	5	10	8	9	51		1	10	10	7	8	9	7	51
2	10	8	9	10	8	10	55		2	8	10	9	9	6	9	51
3	9	10	8	9	8	10	54		3	7	7	9	9	10	10	52
4	8	9	9	9	10	8	53		4	9	7	9	10	8	9	52
Total							213		Total							206

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