The Thrum of Victory

SAY THIS ABOUT THE OLYMPIC HOSTS: THEY'RE STRAIGHT shooters. South
Korea has more than 30 women who have shot 1,300 or better -- out of
a possible 1,440 points -- and the best of them, 17-year-old Kim Su
Nyung, scored a world- record 1,338 points at the Asia Cup in
January. Kim, the daughter of a janitor in Chongju, aspires to a
career as a classical pianist, but for the moment she's limiting her
music to the thrum of the bowstring, and she appears to be on target
for the individual gold. The former record holder, Ludmila
Arzhannikova of the U.S.S.R., is also consistently above 1,300, and
in Olympic archery, consistency is the key to victory. Other
contenders for Olympic medals include Park Jung Ah of South Korea,
Elena Marfel and Sebiniso Rustamova of the U.S.S.R., and several
strong shooters from the People's Republic of China, including
women's world champion Ma Xiagjun.
For a change, Darrell Pace, of Hamilton, Ohio, is not regarded as
a sure thing in the men's event. Pace, 31, a two-time Olympic gold
medalist (1976 and '84), will face competition from countrymen Jay
Barrs, 26, the male U. S. Archer of the Year for 1987 (in which he
won the Pan Am Games, U.S. Indoors and U.S. Olympic Festival) and
34-year-old veteran Rick McKinney, the runner- up to Pace at the
Los Angeles Games. Current world champion Vladimir Esheev (U.S.S.R.),
Tomi Poikolainen (Finland) and Takayoshi Matsushita (Japan) will
press the Americans for individual medals, but in the team
competition the U.S. seems too strong to be topped. -- S.B.