How exactly did Michael Phelps manage to win that race this morning?

What is the plunge for distance competition?

And how could we make archery a bit more exciting?

I’m joined by Julian Linden and Ossian Shine on our latest podcast from Beijing. Seven minutes is all it takes. Go on … you know you want to.

Peter Rutherford had an interview today with South Korean archer Im Dong-hyun, who has already won one gold medal at these Games and is favourite for the individual title despite being legally blind.

Im’s eyesight is listed at 20/200 by the Korea Archery Federation, which basically means he can see at 20 feet what a person with perfect vision can see at 200 feet.

The 22-year-old relies on “feel” when he shoots and will not wear corrective glasses or contact lenses or take up offers of free surgery to correct his eyesight.

“When I look down the range at the target all I can do is try to distinguish between the different colours,” the world number one said. “If I couldn’t see the colours, now that would be a problem.”

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PHOTO: Im Dong-hyun of South Korea takes aim during the men’s team archery gold medal match against Italy at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games August 11, 2008. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich

With our flags fluttering high above the Beijing archery venue, my German opponent and I nodded to each other in a show of mutual respect ahead of the sudden death shoot-off. The score was tied at 2-2 — the next one to burst a balloon in the middle of the target was the winner.

Our instructor for the day, the archery federation’s dashing event director Juan Carlos Holgado, moved us back 30 metres from the target and we let loose. Some 15 minutes and 20 arrows later, the only thing to have burst was our confidence.

This was the first time I had shot an Olympic-style recurve bow and it was a lot harder than it looked. Watching the archers practise from 70m out made it look so easy, but just to hold the bow at arm’s length without quivering was quite an effort.

How long would it take for me to compete at the highest level?

“A minimum of eight to 12 years,” said Holgado. “Once you have the physical, you must have the mental. The mental is what makes the difference between the good and the great archers.”

I obviously possessed neither the mental nor the physical. Holgado even had to stop me from peering out of the wrong eye when I was aiming.

“You are left eye dominant for distance,” he said kindly.

The German and I called it quits at 2-2. There was no shame in sharing the gold.

By Peter Rutherford 

South Korean women have won every Olympic archery gold medal since 1984, and Beijing will probably be no different, but you might need a PhD in Genetics to explain this kind of dominance.

While the benefits of rigorous training, innovative coaching techniques and heavy financial investment are beyond question, there are some who believe Korean women have a genetic advantage - ultra sensitive fingers. The argument goes that this hereditary trait gives them an edge in sports where “feel” is crucial — such as archery, golf, billiards etc. South Korea does seem to have a production line of ultra-talented female golfers, even though the sport is prohibitively expensive there, while Korean-American Jeanette Lee, aka The Black Widow, is one of the top billiards players in the world.

Yoon Ok-hee, a favourite for archery gold in Beijing, says South Korean women can count on their digits. “Our sensitive fingers, descended from our ancestors, and our spiritual strength and willingness to fight until the very end - they are the secrets,” she told Reuters.

Picture: Yoon practices this week at a training session for the Beijing 2008 Olympics at the Korea National Training Centre in Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-Hak