Archery was reintroduced to the Olympic programme in 1972 with recurve men’s and women’s individual events. Team competitions were included in 1988 and a fifth archery medal, the recurve mixed team, made its debut at Tokyo 2020.
The addition of the mixed team format for compound ensures archery maintains its equal gender split and athlete quota in LA.
Compound is modern style of bow, invented in the USA, that uses cams and pulleys to efficiently power an arrow downrange. It has benefited from decades of investment in high-performance and universal development following its first appearance at the World Archery Championships in 1995.
The bowstyle has featured at the World Games since 2013, and at recent continental multisport events in the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Pacific.
“Since the launch of the Archery World Cup in 2006, recurve and compound have been treated as equals in participation, promotion and prize money,” said World Archery secretary general Tom Dielen.
“The exceptional work of our continental federations in adding compound events to multisport Games, and our athletes in promoting the bowstyle, have demonstrated why compound is a valuable addition to the Olympic programme.”
“It is also an incredible legacy for our President, who comes to the end of his term later this year and has worked tirelessly to add now two archery medals to the Olympic programme.”
Further details on the competition format, athlete numbers, qualification schedule and event schedule for LA28 will be announced in due course.
