Making the most of the opportunities she’s given
As an archer who shot up the ranks quickly en route to her first Olympic Games, An was spoiled in the sense that she rarely ever had to sit out of major international competitions.
Whether it was the World Archery Championships, individual World Cup stages or even the Olympic Games, she was there. It’s a reality that made her absence from Paris 2024 an even greater shock to the system.
You see, she’d been given opportunities available to so few Korean archers – due to the restricted number of entries in international competitions, and the highly competitive nature of the national trials – throughout her promising, yet short career.
And while she’d largely taken them for granted, An finally realized what it meant to compete at the highest level following her elimination from the national trials last year – a memory that made qualifying for the Republic of Korea team at 2025 World Archery Championships in hometown of Gwangju all the sweeter.
“Participating in a major event hosted in my hometown is a rare and valuable opportunity, and I am very grateful for it,” An told Olympics.com. “Many local fans rarely have the chance to watch archery outside of the Olympics and Asian Games, so I hope this event will raise awareness of the sport among more people.”
While she hopes to be an ambassador for both the sport and her hometown on and off the firing line at the World Archery Championships 2025, An holds some very real expectations for both this competition and the future.
“For us, the team event is a top priority,” she confirmed. “We all agree that hearing the national anthem at least once while on the podium in front of our home fans is essential.”
When asked about her current goals in archery, and the possibility of returning to the sport’s biggest stage at the Olympic Games LA28, An chose to keep her arrows in the quiver for the time being.
“It is too early to consider [the] LA Olympics at this point,” remarked the first-ever triple Olympic archery champion.
Still, she made sure to thank those who have supported her to this point.
“I always feel very thankful when fans come to see my performances and keep me in mind,” she mused.
“I want to be remembered as a good athlete for the long term.”