Story of the day: Blind archer targets fuzzy yellow, gold
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
