After the shot in luck, Lisa Unruh fell into her teammates’ arms. After 21 years it finally worked again. The German archers won bronze at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, securing the first team medal since Sydney 2000. Unruh (Berlin), Michelle Kroppen (Jena) and Charline Schwarz (Feucht) defeated Belarus in the small final on Sunday in Yumenoshima Park with 5: 1 (55:48, 53:51, 55:55). For the German Olympic team, it was the second medal on the second day of the final, after the water jumpers Lena Hentschel and Tina Punzel had previously celebrated third place.
The archers were in a great mood on Sunday. After a 6: 2 (55:54, 47:54 52:49, 55:50) against Taiwan, Unruh and Co. caused a clear 6: 2 (52:48, 51:48, 49:54, 55:49 ) against the favored Mexicans in the quarterfinals for a surprise. At 1: 5 (54:54, 48:51, 52:57) against the Russian archers in the semifinals, it was unrest, of all things, that went wrong in the second set. Otherwise the final might even have been possible.
Against Belarus, the German team dominated the action for two sets before the Eastern Europeans turned up. Unruh needed a 10 in the third set in the last shot and the best German athlete delivered a parade shot.
Third place confirmed the sport’s upward trend, after Unruh had already won silver in the singles at its Olympic premiere. National coach Oliver Haidn hopes that the successes will give archery a boost in Germany. Above all, he demands better conditions. “So that we can keep up with the big ones in the long run, we need a center with a 70-meter shooting hall and an outdoor archery range right next to it.” This is the only way to train all year round. Because compared to South Korea, Germany still lags far behind. The Asian women have the same conditions as in German professional football – also financially.
The star of the German team is Unruh. The police master, who was last seventh at the World Cup in Paris, made archery popular in Germany. But finally she is no longer just a lone fighter, now it has also worked in a team. In Tokyo, Unruh also has her husband Florian by her side, who is with the men. The couple got married in September 2020.(dpa)
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