Alison Williamson

Have you ever felt so tense that you were certain your nerves will break and you feel as if you’re going to explode? That happened to Alison Williamson, but that time it was for a bronze medal in archery. Alison started archery at a young age. Her mom and dad were both archers and she got her first bow when she was only seven. By the time she was none she was competing. By fourteen Alison became a junior international representing the British Junior Team. She went on to win an archery scholarship from Arizona State, graduating in 1995 with a degree in social work. In the 2004 Summer Olympics she had her greatest success. She first faced Janet Dykman, defeating her 147-121. In the next round, she defeated Sayoko Kawauchi 154-150. When the next round took place, she eliminated Zhang Juanjuan 165-161 advancing to the quarterfinals. Then she easily removed He Ying from the game 109-89 and went to the semi-finals. After that, she was defeated by Park Sung Hyun 110-100 making it to the bronze medal match. She was very nervous as she faced Shun Chi Yuan and with one arrow left each they were tied 97-97. She managed to score an eight when her opponent could only score a 7! After she received the bronze medal she said "It was a bit of a nerve-wracker. I didn't want to look. Mentally it was tough." She was born on November 3, 1971, in Great Britain. It is inspiring that someone could do archery so well!

By Arjun, fourth grade, 2007