Archery World Records

 

In case you are reading this and are not a human, it should be noted that we humans are a competitive species. Sometimes to the extreme. There are times when we don’t even really have any competition outside of ourselves and we just want to know how far we can go. Who can swim or run the fastest? Jump the highest? Endure the longest? There is not much that we won’t compete over. Some of the competitions and/or records we pursue are quite ridiculous and dangerous. Nevertheless, we are compelled to compete and to be better. Better than others and better than our former selves. This article delves into the many archery world records that have been set. We’ll try to go in somewhat of a chronological order, starting with archery feats of the past and working our way to the most recent ones. Enjoy!

 

 

 

The Ancients – Archery World Records

 

Some archery world records of ancient times were in fact documented. Whether or not there was some validity to them is another matter. We of course cannot go back and ask anyone as time travel is yet to be invented. There was of course no officially recognized global body that validated, verified, and kept records. There were no Guinness World Records to speak of.

For this reason, the ancient archery world records are more like amazing archery feats, that may or may not be true. Also, some of the amazing archery feats of the ancient world were likely purely fictitious. Archery was a highly valued skill. Gods, goddesses, and mythical heroes were, of course, the most highly skilled. Mythical beings in fact make up the majority of archery world record holders of ancient times. Nevertheless, we will highlight some note-worthy examples.

 

 

 

 

Archery Exploits of the Pharaohs

 

As we all should know, Egyptian civilization is ancient. The ancient Egyptians were also very familiar with archery, having practiced the craft throughout the entirety of their civilization. You can read more about Egyptian archery here. Now, we should also all be familiar with the idea that the ancient Egyptians did love themselves some monarchy. The civilization always prospered under strong centralized rule by a powerful Pharoah. Now the leaders of nations in the ancient world were not like the spoiled, corrupt, bureaucratic, and largely incompetent politicians of today. Oh no no no! They had to protect their kingdoms by leading from the front of the army. They had to be competent soldiers and generals.

In order to prove their skills in archery, Pharaohs would put on an archery display. This involved shooting an arrow through a sheet of hammered copper. The act is documented to have been accomplished by several Pharaohs.

 

Armant Stela: Pharaoh Thutmose III

 

“When he shoots at a copper target, all wood is splintered like a papyrus reed. His Majesty offered an example thereof in the temple of Amun, with a target of hammered copper of three digits in thickness; when he had shot his arrow there, he caused protrusion of three palms behind it, so as to cause the followers to pray for the proficiency of his arms in valor and strength. I am telling you what he did, without deception and without lie, in front of his entire army, and there is no word of exaggeration therein “(Nederhof 2009)

 

 

 

Great Sphinx Stela of Amenhotep II at Giza

 

“Entering his northern garden, he found erected for him four targets of Asiatic copper, of one palm in thickness, with a distance of twenty cubits between one post and the next. Then his majesty appeared on the chariot like Mont in his might. He drew his bow while holding four arrows together in his fist. Thus he rode northward shooting at them, like Mont in his panoply, each arrow coming out at the back of its target while he attacked the next post. It was a deed never yet done, never yet heard reported: shooting an arrow at a target of copper, so that it came out of it and dropped to the ground.” (Lichtheim 1976).

Well, it should come as no surprise that the Pharaohs of old held all the archery world records!

 

Demosthenes’ Archers & The Surrender of the Spartans 

 

Demosthenes was an Athenian general known for his actions in the Peloponnesian war (fought between Athens and Sparta, 431–404 BC). After failed peace negotiations, several hundred hoplites (Spartan infantry) were stranded on the island of Sphacteria which bears the battle’s name.

Demosthenes had landed on the island and quickly ordered his lightly armored archers to seek out the high ground and start harassing those Spartan bastards with arrow fire. The Spartans just could not get close enough to the archers and retreated to the north of the island. With the Spartans pinned down, Demosthenes had originally planned on starving out the enemy. It became apparent however that the Athenians were unable to fully blockade the Spartan fortifications and they were able to hold out much longer than expected.

Demosthenes’s co-commander Comon then proceeded to flank the Spartans by traveling along the rocky and rough terrain of the shore. This path had been undefended as the Spartans did not think a sufficient force could pass through this rough ground. Well, they were wrong. The Spartans ended up surrendering. Getting the proud Spartans to surrender was no easy feat. As many of our readers may know from history, the Spartans rarely surrendered, many times choosing death or complete annihilation to surrender and/or capture. This use of archery in battle and the consequent surrender of a small Spartan force earns Demosthenes an ancient archery world record!

 

 

 

Medieval Times – Archery World Records

 

In terms of archery and its utility in hunting and warfare, not too much changed from ancient times going into the medieval era. Archery was still a highly prized skill, and archers were deployed on battlefields the world over. Before we go into modern archery world records let’s take a look at some of the archery feats accomplished and recorded from the medieval era.

 

 

I’m Your Biggest Fan – Nasu no Yoichi 

 

Nasu no Yoichi (那須 与一, Nasu no Yoichi) (c. 1169 – c. 1232) was a legendary figure from war-torn medieval Japan. He was a samurai fighting for one of the largest and most powerful groups of the time, the Minamoto Clan in the so-called Genpei War.

It was alleged that Nasu was an excellent archer, picking up the practice and excelling at it in early childhood. It was in fact an archery exploit that gained him fame and legendary status during and after his life.

According to the the Heike Monogatari, an epic account of the Genpei wars, Nasu made quite the shot. During the battle of Battle of Yashima, fought in 1185, the Taira placed a single fan atop the highest mast of one of their ships. The were taunting their enemy, urging the Minamoto warriors on the shore to shoot the fan. Nasu no Yoichi walked his horse into the water and with the waves knocking his ride and himself about, not to mention the bobbing of the ship in the distance, managed to shoot down the fan with one shot. I’m sure this frustrated and humbled the Taira.

 

 

Sunken Ships – Minamoto no Tametomo 

 

Minamoto no Tametomo (源 為朝, 1139 – April 23, 1170), also known as Chinzei Hachirō Tametomo (鎮西 八郎 為朝) was another formidable and legendary figure from Japanese history. The story of his claim to an archery world record goes something like this. Tametomo was, according to sources a very large man. Both in his physical size as well as his ego. It was recorded in serval legends that one of his arms was about 4 inches longer than the other. This allowed for enormous draw lengths.

While being exiled onto an island, government administrators thought it would be appropriate for Tametomo to pay some taxes. He couldn’t just sit on his own personal island, not bother anyone and be at peace. Oh no, sir! You know how it is. Government officials. Producing nothing themselves and demanding too much from you, the hard-working, productive member of society. We got off-topic a bit there.

 

 

Anyhow, back to Tametomo. A small fleet was commissioned to pay Mr. Tometomo a visit to his little island. The samurai saw the ships approaching and decided to give a warning shot with one of his mighty yumi bows. As the legend goes, he meant to shoot his arrow over the bows of the ships as a mere warning. Well, it did not go as he planned. The arrow struck one of the closer vessels just below the water line. The impact caused enough damage to cause the ship to take on water and eventually sink. Seeing that Tametomo was a serious customer, the other ships took off and left him to his own devices. What he lacked in accuracy he certainly made up for in raw power. For more on Japanese traditional archery see our page here.

 

English Longbowman

 

The longbowman of the British Islands was known for their prowess with the bow. They also shot some heavy bows, specifically designed for warfare – warbows. In fact, some English longbows were discovered onboard the Mary Rose, the flagship of King Henry VIII, most of which exceeded 100 pounds in draw weight. Some even approached 200 pounds! They were pulling some heavy bows indeed! The English longbowman gets a medical archery world record for pulling some extremely heavy bows. The vast majority of people in modern times can not pull much after 100 pounds. Read more about the English longbowman here. You may also be interested in our article on the Mary Rose.

Also, check out Joe Gibbs, one of the last of the long line of English longbowmen. He can indeed pull some historical weight longbows well in excess of 100 pounds.

 

 

 

Flight Archery World Records

 

Flight archery’s whole purpose is to see how far you can shoot an arrow. Of course, humans, being the competitive species, made this into a competition. It is unknown where exactly these competitions first arose, but it is very likely that it was on the open steppe. Archery was one of the most highly prized skills in life on the steppe. Large, flat, and open spaces made most of the terrain on the Eurasian plains ideal for this type of archery.

Shooting farther requires a heavier bow, and a heavier bow requires a stronger archer to operate. Therefore shooting the farthest usually means you are strong and fit.

Flight archery became an obsession among the Turkish Ottomans. They designed extremely efficient bows as well as very small arrows and even special devices such as the siper, which allows for the arrow to be drawn past the bow arc. For more, check out our article on flight archery here. Also, you may want to read more on Turkish bows and archery here.

 

 

 

Turkish Flight Archery

 

As mentioned, the Ottoman Turks really took flight archery seriously. They established archery ranges or Ok-Meidan (arrow fields) all over the country. There are large stone pillars to be found around Istanbul that commemorate the flight archery world records of the time. Shooting lanes or “menzil” in Turkish, were defined by two stone pillars or columns. The first, typically a smaller stone, marked the shooting line. The second pillar, usually larger and elegantly carved, marked where the arrow landed. Other archers would come and try to establish a new flight archery world record. If a further shot was made and verified, they were entitled to erect a new monumental pillar. Once again, if you want to read more, check out our article on flight archery here. Also, you may want to read more on Turkish bows and archery here.

 

 

Modern Flight Archery World Records

 

Flight archery competitions continue to this very day. The modern affair, operating under World Archery and national rules is held at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

The furthest recorded shot with any type of bow was 2,047 yards (1,871.84m) by Harry Drake in 1983 using a fiberglass footbow.

The furthest with a hand-held – and pulled – bow is 1,336 yds 1′ 3″ (1,222.01m) , shot by Don Brown with an unlimited conventional Flight bow in 1987.

Check out our article on flight archery here.

 

Olympic World Records

 

Archery made its debut in the Olympic games in 1900. The sport was featured in the Olympics again in 1904, 1908, and 1920. After 1920, archery was withdrawn from the Olympics, making its return over half a century later in 1972. Ever since ’72, archery has been a feature of the Olympic Games.

The most celebrated archer of the Olympic’s early days is the Belgian Gerard Theodor Hubert van Innis (24 February 1866 – 25 November 1961). He participated in the 1900 games, then 20 years later in 1920. He accumulated six gold medals and three silver medals.

 

 

Modern (post 1972) Olympic Archery World Records

 

Below are some tables of the current Olympic archery world records for men’s and women’s events. As you can see, Korea dominates Olympic archery these days.

 

MEN

 

WOMEN

 

 

Guinness World Records – Archery World Records

 

The Guinness World Records, known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as The Guinness Book of Records, has become synonymous with the keeping of world records. The creation of Sir Hugh Beaver, the publication was co-founded by twin brothers Norris and Ross McWhirter in Fleet Street, London, in August 1955.

Due to the huge popularity of the publication, the Guinness World Records became the authority for verifying and cataloging all types of world records. This of course includes archery world records! There are 130 world records cataloged under the search “archery” on their website: https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/. We are not going the list them all here, simply follow the link and register (it is free). Then search for the term “archery” and check out the 100+ results.

 

 

 

Cool Picks – Guinness Archery World Records

 

 

Fastest moving target hit with an arrow

 

A recent Guinness archery world record was set on August 31, 2022. The fastest-moving target to be hit with an arrow. The object was a clay pigeon launched from a skeet-shooting machine. It clocked in at 77.2 km/h (48 mph) and was shot successfully by James Jean (USA) on the set of Dude Perfect in Midlothian, Texas, USA.

Most Bottle Caps Removed Using a Bow and Arrow in One Minute

 

This one is for the aspiring archery world record-setters out there. Apparently, according to the Guinness World Record website, this one has yet to be accomplished and/or set. Well, somebody get to it!

 

 

Farthest Arrow Shot Using Feet

 

Here’s one for the more flexible and foot sensitive among us. Apparently, the farthest arrow shot using one’s feet is 12.31 m (40 ft 4.64 in). This does not seem like a very large distance at all. Although it is quite an accomplishment to shoot a bow in this manner, regardless of the distance, it seems like we could go much farther. This particular record was set by Brittany Walsh (USA) at Creston School in Portland, Oregon, USA, on 31 March 2018.

 

 

 

Honorable Mentions – Archery World Records

 

As you are most certainly aware by now, we at archeryhistorian.com love all things archery and history. That is why we will always have a soft and squishy spot for the traditional archers out there, basing their archery practice around historical aspects of archery. That is why we must mention a few such archers and the records they hold.

 

 

Lars Anderson – Number of Arrows Through a Keyhole

 

On 1 June 2022 Mr. Lars Anderson, a Danish traditional archer managed to pull off quite the feet of instinctive archery accuracy. He was able to put 7 arrows through a keyhole in rapid succession. We could not find any reference to the distance but gauged by the video evidence it is roughly seven (7) meters or so. Regardless, anything other distance than point blank is an accomplishment. Observe for yourself in the video below.

 

 

 

József Mónus

 

József Mónus of Hungary usually never fails to impress with his archery prowess. His archery style is exciting as he specializes in traditional Asiatic bows (typically Magyar or Hungarian) of a traditional build. These bows are heavy machinery, as they can well exceed 100 pounds in draw weight. Utilizing these high-end draw weights, József Mónus has achieved many impressive archery world records. Enjoy the videos below at your leisure.

 

 

 

Kassai Lajos

 

Lajos Kassai (born 16 September 1960) is a Hungarian equestrian archer and teacher who is renowned worldwide for his archery skill and pioneering efforts in the sport of mounted archery. Kassai has also set and held several archery world records, specifically pertaining to mounted archery. For more information please refer to our article on Kassai here. You may also like to see the man in action via the videos below!

 

 

 

Thank you, take care and God bless.