2008 PARALYMPIC GAMES: Lindsey Carmichael Wins Bronze in Women's Archery

BEIJING, China- The sweet taste of success finally culminated in the air around the archery venue today. After five days of eliminating competition, one U.S. archer was awarded the bronze medal.

Lindsey Carmichael (Lago Vista, A) the only female archer from the U.S., saw action in two matches this morning. One resulted in a loss, the other a win and a bronze medal to show. Carmichael was pitted against Lee Hwa-Sook of Korea in the Women's Individual Recurve- Standing semi-finals.

Each archer took turns in the lead. It seemed over when Carmichael failed to shoot a ten to answer her opponent's perfect shot in the last end. However, Lee's lead was broken when she shot a six on the final arrow, tying the match at 101 points. Following a one-arrow shoot-off, Carmichael lost the match by one point and was slated for the bronze medal match against Malgorzata Olejnik of Poland.

With the possibility of fourth place overshadowing a spot on the podium, Carmichael shot four tens in her match against Olejnik. That, coupled with her opponent's shot of a six and sporadic sevens, was enough to win her the medal by four points. Her success is the first medal the U.S. has seen in archery during the 2008 Beijing games.

T.J. Pemberton's (Guthrie, Okla.) win over teammate Joe Bailey (Flushing, Mich.) yesterday set him up for a match with Alberto Simonelli of Italy in the Men's Individual Compound- Open semi-finals. This afternoon's match was opened by two tens from the archers. Pemberton went on to shoot six tens total, but didn't match Simonelli's eight. During the match Pemberton's score lagged behind Simonelli's, ultimately causing Pemberton to finish six points behind his opponent.

Pemberton's loss didn't mean elimination. He met Philippe Horner of Switzerland in the bronze medal match this afternoon. Pemberton didn't slack in his second match of the day; again scoring six tens and surpassing his previous match's score by one point. However, eight out of twelve of Horner's shots were perfect and he won the bronze medal with a score of 115. Pemberton finishes the competition in fourth place.

Jeff Fabry (Tulare, Calif) will compete against John Cavanagh of Great Britain in the Men's Individual Compound- W1 semi-finals 10:00 tomorrow.

For more information regarding the results:

http://www.results.beijing2008.cn/

For more information or to arrange an athlete interview, please contact Amy Rohlfs at 13910754531 (if calling from the U.S., dial 011 86 plus the local number).