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by Mary Beth Vorwerk - USA Archery
The 2004 U.S. Olympic Men's Archery team looks to be successful once again as three-time Olympian and top-ranked Butch Johnson (Woodstock, Conn.) and 2000 Olympian and second-ranked Vic Wunderle (Mason City, Ill.) will compete for the men along with newcomer John Magera (Carterville, Ill.) who is coming off a second place finish at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Johnson will compete on his fourth consecutive Olympic Team. He was also a member of the 1992 Olympic Team in Barcelona, won a team gold at the 1996 Games in Atlanta and won a team bronze at the 2000 Games in Sydney. Johnson is looking to take home his first Olympic individual medal in Athens. Wunderle was the 2000 Olympic Individual Silver Medalist and Team Bronze Medalist.
Prior Olympic Games success for the U.S. Men include medaling at every single Games except for Barcelona in 1992 since archery was re-instated as an Olympic Sport in 1972. The U.S. Team has captured a total of 13 medals since 1972 and currently holds the 2x27 finals total Olympic record of 502, set by Huish, Johnson and White at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Korea will be the top threat in Athens, but the U.S. is a major contender for bringing home medals from their third consecutive Olympic Games.
On the women's side, 2003 USA Archery Athlete of the Year and top-ranked Jennifer Nichols (Cheyenne, Wyo.) will compete on her first ever Olympic Team after finishing in first place at the Olympic Trials by almost 300 points. Twenty-year-old Nichols is a 2003 Pan American Games double gold medalist, was a member of the 2003 World Championship Team and has had a very successful start to 2004 winning the National Indoor Championships and the Arizona Cup International. Nichols will be joined in Athens by Stephanie White-Arnold (Portland, Ind.), who finished second at the Olympic Trials and two-time Olympian Janet Dykman (El Monte, Calif.), who is making her third consecutive Olympic Games appearance.
With Korea also being the top threat to the women's team, the U.S. is looking toward Athens to defeat the Koreans and bring home the first women's Olympic medal since 1988.
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