Olympic Evolution: Number 3 - Archery

Pedigree: Has perhaps the loftiest history of all Olympic sports. Dates to 35,000 BC, when the use of the bow and arrow was essential to hunters across the globe. Became the weapon of choice around 2340 BC, when Sargon of Akkad in northern Babylonia defeated the Sumerians with an infantry comprised mainly of archers. He started a trend, and by the 14th Century (AD) the archer was an integral part of any self-respecting army.

In the 14th Century, the sport of target archery originated in England. The longbow became the definitive weapon at battles such as Poitiers and Agincourt. In 1363, a royal decree required all Englishmen to practice archery Sundays and holidays.

The firearm ended the domination of the bow and arrow, but archery remained a popular sport, and by 1600 the improbably named "butt shooting" - from which Olympic target practice evolved - was widely practised in England. Cromwell banned archery, but it enjoyed a renaissance in the 17th Century.

The Royal Toxopholite society was formed in 1787. Toxopholite is from the Greek "bow lover". In the US, archery was the preserve of Native Americans until the 1820s, when a Bowmen's Association was set up.

Olympic Links: First featured in 1900 and was contested through to 1920. However, the early events were little more than national championships and don't really meet the criteria for Olympic competition. One of the pre-eminent exponents of the day was Charlotte "Lottie" Dod , the legendary tennis champion who came second to Sybil Newall in the 1908 London games. Her brother Willie did not take up archery until the age of 39, but found he had a natural talent (their ancestor, Anthony Dod of Edge, was commander at the victorious English archers at the battle of Agincourt some years previous) and took gold the same year. The Dods became the first brother-sister medallists in Olympic history.

Modern Shots: Re-appeared on the Olympic calendar in 1972 and went through a series of rules changes before settling on the current format. Since 1996, all 64 entrants in the individual events begin with a 72-arrow round and then advance to matchplay, with the highest qualifier playing the lowest and so on. Matches are 18 arrows at 70 metres through to the eight finals, with 12 arrows for the quarters, semis and finals.

In the team event, the top 16 teams, based on scores from the individual open round, advance to single-elimination matchplay, when each team shoots nine arrows at 70 metres.

So, is it difficult? They say hitting the bulls eye is the equivalent to shooting across the distance of three tennis courts laid end to end and hitting a grapefruit. Best attempted between sets.

True colours: The targets are divided into five coloured rings, with gold on the inside encircled by red, blue, black and finally white. But each ring is split in half. The inner sanctum of the gold zone is worth 10 points, the outer nine and so it decreases, with the outer white worth a solitary point.

Shot through the heart: Most heartrending Olympic archery tale goes to Simon Terry, who in 1992 became the first Englishman to win a medal in the discipline for 80 years. Terry came from nowhere to land a bronze. His victorious return home to Sleaford in Lincolnshire was soured, however, by a waiting letter. An unemployed roofer in the real world, Terry found that his benefits had been cut off because while he was in Barcelona he was not available for work.

Nerves of steel: The world of archery is full of legends reflecting the icy courage which distinguishes its competitors, the most famous perhaps being the blood curdling "anthem massacre" of 1920. After the Dutch forced host country Belgium into second place of the Pole Targets, the partisan crowd threatened to get ugly.

"When the Dutch archery team won, they sang their national anthem at the top of their voices. Some people from the audience begrudged them and called them `kaaskoppen',", wrote one intrepid Dutch journalist. "But our plucky archers were not at all disturbed by this abuse and sang even louder." Kaaskoppen, incidentally, means cheesehead.

Flashiest moment: Archery formed the core sequence of the 1992 torch lighting ceremony in Barcelona. A flaming arrow was lobbed apparently into the heart of the magnificent stadium torch, causing it to light. Replays illustrated that the arrow had flown over and beyond the torch, dropping harmlessly behind it. Still made for a memorable image.

Irish toxopholites: None are Sydney bound.

Advised reading: Has inspired myriad texts, from the standard A Basic Guide to Archery to the flightier Zen in Motion: Lessons from a Master Archer on Breath, Posture and the Path of Intuition.

Hot shots 2000: USA's Justin Huish. The American became the archery sensation of the Atlanta games when he took gold despite a ranking of just 24.