USA Archery CEO Denise Parker has been selected as the Athlete of the Week by World Archery, the international federation for the sport. Following is the article, courtesy of World Archery Communications:
Denise PARKER was the youngest member (14 years) of the entire US Olympic Team at the 1988 Seoul Games, where she won a bronze medal with her team. Now CEO at USA Archery, she is a successful example of a transformation from an athlete to a sports executive.
Denise PARKER was just 10 years old when her father, who was involved in bowhunting, asked her if she wanted to accompany him to an archery range not far from their Utah home. Two years later, aged 12, she competed in her first Junior Indoor National Championships, which she won. Her score was higher than all of the women in the senior competition-this made her realise how gifted she was.
PARKER's first international victory came in 1987 when at age 13 she won the team and individual gold medals at the Pan American Games.
She went to her first Olympics in Seoul 1988 as the youngest member of the entire US Olympic team at 14 years and 9 months. There, she won a bronze medal with her team and placed 21st in the individual competition.
PARKER excelled in the years following the Seoul Olympics, with two top-10 individual finishes at the World Championships, including a bronze in 1989. In 1991 she became the first ever Junior World Champion.
As an 18-year-old, she competed in the Barcelona 1992, placing 5th individually and 8th with her team. However, in 1996 she failed to make the team for Atlanta and quit shooting.
In 1997, PARKER graduated from Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah with a marketing degree. Her first job was working for an advertising agency, and she then became the editor of the bimonthly publication of the National Archery Association,Archery Focus. Being on the journalistic side of the sport gave her a different perspective, and in 1998 she started shooting again, determined to write a different ending to her story as an athlete. She went on to represent the United States at the 2000 Olympic Games.
The Sydney Games were her last competition but she always stayed involved in the sport on the work side. She worked for the archery equipment maker Hoyt, before joining the Archery Trade Association as Vice President and running the ATA Trade Show.
Then, in 2008 PARKER became the CEO of USA Archery. She manages national events, team and training, along with promoting the US team and USA archery. As CEO of USA Archery, she also oversees major archery events organised in the United States. She was involved in the organisation of the 2009 Youth World Archery Championships, of the 2010 World Cup in Ogden, the first ever World Cup event held in the United States. While she hopes that the exposure brings new eyes to the talented US archers, her true desire is for it to inspire potential young athletes to join the sport.
The American recently took part in the first ever World Archery Management Seminar in Lausanne, and is currently working on the organisation of the Indoor World Archery Championships 2012. She still looks fondly upon her experiences and has learned countless lessons from them. "Winning the bronze medal at the 1988 Olympics was my best moment as an archer," she says. "Part of the reason it meant so much is that we weren't supposed to achieve this as a team. It was a surprise."
Biography Extract:
Denise PARKER (USA) - Born 12 December 1973
|
5th |
Team |
Olympic Games Sydney |
2000 |
|
44th |
Individual |
Olympic Games Sydney |
2000 |
|
6th |
Team |
World Championships Riom |
1999 |
|
41st |
Individual |
World Championships Riom |
1999 |
|
11th |
Team |
World Championships Jakarta |
1995 |
|
20th |
Individual |
World Championships Jakarta |
1995 |
|
1st |
Team |
Pan American Games Mar del Plata |
1995 |
|
10th |
Team |
World Championships Antalya |
1993 |
|
13th |
Individual |
World Championships Antalya |
1993 |
|
8th |
Team |
Olympic Games Barcelona |
1992 |
|
5th |
Individual |
Olympic Games Barcelona |
1992 |
|
1st |
Individual |
World Archery Junior Championships |
1991 |
|
6th |
Individual |
World Archery Championships Krakow |
1991 |
|
5th |
Team |
World Archery Championships Lausanne |
1989 |
|
3rd |
Individual |
World Archery Championships Lausanne |
1989 |
|
3rd |
Team |
Olympic Games Seoul |
1988 |
|
21st |
Individual |
Olympic Games Seoul |
1988 |
|
1st |
Team |
Pan American Games Indianapolis |
1987 |
|
1st |
Individual |
Pan American Games Indianapolis |
1987 |
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