2024-07-25 12:37:32
On the eve of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the archery competition begins with the ranking round. Set in the Les Invalides setting, it was dominated by South Korean Lim Si-hyeon, who set a new world record. Fatoumata Sylla of Guinea also participated. At 23, he hopes to become an example to follow to develop his sport in Africa.
Published on: 07/25/2024 – 2:37 pm.
5 min
On the Olympic site of Les Invalides, the salute was played on Wednesday July 25. During the ranking stage of the women’s archery event, South Korean Lim Si-hyeon hit a big fight. While the tournament had not really started, he broke the world record by scoring 694 points over 12 ends of six arrows.
While all the South Korean media, who came in large numbers to cover this country’s sport, rushed to get the details of the Asian archer, Fatoumata Sylla quietly slipped towards the exit. “When I saw that he had broken the world record, I told myself that it was amazing, because he worked hard for it,” said the Guinean veteran with typical humor.
“I made a dream come true”
For his first Olympic Games, the African athlete was ranked 61st out of 64 participants during the ranking stage. Far from Lim Si-hyeon’s 694 points, he earned 619 points. The result of which is, however, his best score in an international competition. “It wasn’t easy, but I did my best,” he explained. “It’s my first time at the Olympics, I’m a little nervous, but I try to control everything.”
It must be said that the site is sure to impress. The archery competition takes place on the Esplanade des Invalides, with the Dôme on one side and the Alexandre III Bridge on the other. “You are really beautiful and tall,” emphasized Fatimata Sylla, with stars in her eyes. “Today I fulfilled a dream I had since I started archery eight years ago,” he added enthusiastically.
This great sport started in 2015 in a school in Conakry. Thanks to her PE teacher, the girl discovered archery and fell in love with the discipline: “It’s a very calm sport and where the athletes are great.” Quickly, Fatoumata Sylla showed abilities and began to participate in competitions, first in Africa, then at the international level. In 2023, he ended up joining the World Archery Institute in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he received a scholarship. “It’s another level. I’m shooting 400 to 500 arrows a day,” he said.
“You’ve made a lot of progress”
Your efforts paid off and allowed you to qualify for the Paris Games. Fatoumata Sylla also benefited from the advice of her coach, Frenchman Howard Catherine. “We have already come a long way, he has improved a lot, a year and a half ago, when we started working together, the best performance in the world championship was 535. Last May, he managed to get the African record with 646. points and, today, he scored 619 points, which is among his average “, said his coach, who appreciates “his perseverance and his focus”.
Fatoumata Sylla with her trainer, Howard Catherine, on July 25, 2024 at the Invalides, in Paris. © Stéphanie Trouillard, France 24
In the next stage, the 32nd finals, which will be eliminated, Fatoumata Sylla will face the American Casey Kaufhold on August 1, one of the favorites of the tournament. His coach knows that it will be difficult to compete with one of the stars of the discipline, but gives him the first thing elsewhere: “I know that it will take a small miracle whether he wins or loses, it will not depend on him, but if he shows his strength, he will be able to leave these Games with his head held high.”
American archer Casey Kaufhold, the show of the 2023 season, who placed fourth in the ranking of the Olympic Games, July 25, 2024 in Invalides. Kin Cheung, AP
The sportswoman is also well aware of the gulf that separates these international stars. “I can’t say that I will become an Olympic champion, but I just want to give my best,” he summed up. The young woman can, however, count on the outpouring of sympathy: “I received a lot of support, not only from Guineans, but also from other countries. I represent Guinea, but also all of Africa.”
While archery is a private sport on this computer, you know that your participation in the Games is already a victory. He hopes to pave the way for a new generation of African archers: “I have become a role model, I want to show that they too can believe.”
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