Frank Thomas

Williamson Notable Sports Figures
Alison Williamson
In 1991, she received a sports scholarship to Arizona
State University and became the first British athlete to
win an archery scholarship to an American university.
She would graduate four years later with a degree in social
work.
The first of Williamson’s Olympic appearances was
Barcelona in 1992, where, at age twenty, she was
billed as Britain’s young hopeful. Reaching the quarter
finals, she placed an overall eighth. That same year she
ranked second in the European Championships and
was awarded the Moet and Chandon Young Sportwoman
of the Year. Two more competitions followed in
1993: the World Indoor Championships in which she
placed fifth, and the Arizona Cup International where
she came in at the top.
Breaking records and improving her skills, in 1994
she again ranked first in both the Vegas Shoot and at the
US Collegiate Championship where she won with a
score of 579 in singles 18m. In the Olympic round competition
of 1994, Williamson broke the world record
with a score of 651 in seventy-two arrows, and achieved
a European record score of 165 in eighteen arrows.
Although Williamson ranked only tenth at the Atlanta
Olympics of 1996, she continued to shine in European
competition. She placed first in the Tournament of Nations
in Germany, and second place at the European
Grand Prix. Two years later in 1998, she achieved a
British record at the European Indoor Championships,
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Chronology
1971 Born November 3 in Melton Mowbray, Great Britain
1986 Represents the BG Junior Team
1988 Makes her senior BG Team debut
1991 Granted scholarship to Arizona State University in the US
1995 Graduates from Arizona State with a degree in social work
and came in at a European record ninth place at the
Czech Republic Grand Prix that same year.
Her best year was 1999 with a silver medal win at the
World Championships in Riom, France, a gold medal at
the Cyprus European Grand Prix, a European record
performance at the Grand Prix in Turkey, and third place
in the team competition at the European Field Championships
in Slovenia. At the Cyprus games, she performed
her best twelve arrows score of 113. In 2000,
she placed second at the Arizona Cup USA.
Dashed Hopes in Sydney
Williamson approached her fourth Olympics, the 2000
Sydney Games, with high hopes. Having been briefly
ranked top in the world before the Olympics but going
into the Games officially listed as third, the near 30-yearold
again represented Team BG. She started out with superb
results, shooting a perfect ten with her final arrow to
attain the last sixteen of the archery competition. She won
157-154 against Turkish player Elif Altinkaynak, hitting
the 12.2 cm bull from a distance of 70 meters.
Competition intensified when Williamson faced off
against South Korean favorite Kim Soo-Nyung, called by
some the best archer in history. Kim had won gold at both
the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Games. Ironically, it
was another South Korean, 17-year-old Yun Mi-Jin in the
women’s individual archery event who knocked medal
hopeful Williamson out of the last sixteen with an
Olympic record score of 173 for eighteen arrows.
Williamson scored her best total of 164 in the Games and
placed an overall tenth, while Yun, Kim, and fellow teammate
Kim Nam-Soon took a Korean sweep of the medals.
Williamson is an intense competitor. She has a habit
of waiting until the last moment before shooting her arrows
in quick succession. To focus on her craft,
Williamson employs a sports psychologist with whom
she communicates frequently, and listens to tapes to
help her concentrate and visualize matches. She is also
an avid reader, and once was photographed nude in halflight
for an exhibition in the National Portrait Gallery.
Williamson is an honorary life member of the Long
Mynd Archers society.
Alison Williamson excelled in archery throughout
European competition and four Olympic games. She attributes
her success in the demanding sport to concentration
and establishing a balance between the physical and