Meet Brady Ellison, the American archer who nearly beat South Korea's Kim Woo-jin in the gold medal match at Paris Olympics 2024

By Zahid Rashid Dar

Modified Aug 04, 2024 14:45 GMT

Brady Ellison is among the most successful archers from the USA, having won medals at the 2012, 2016, and now 2024 Olympic Games. The former world champion nearly beat Korea's W.J. Kim for the gold medal in the men's individual finals at the Paris Olympics 2024.

Ellison faced Turkey's Abdullah Yildirmis in the 1/32 eliminators round and won the match easily with a score of 6-2. He took on China's Kao Wenchao in the next round and emerged victorious with the same scoreline. Ellison then defeated Turkey’s Berkim Tumer to qualify for the quarterfinals.

The American dominated Kim Je-deok in the quarterfinals, winning with a score of 6-0. Next, Ellison faced Germany’s Florian Unruh in the semifinals, securing himself a medal with a score of 7-3. He faced Kim Woo-jin of South Korea in the finals at the Paris Olympics and almost won his maiden Olympic gold medal.

Brady Ellison won the first set with a score of 29 over the Korean's 27. The 35-year-old fell short in the second set but took the lead again in the third set with the scoreline reading 29-27. They were tied for 5-5 sets before going for the shoot-off, where Woo-jin scored a perfect 10 and American fell short with 9.

The silver medal marked Ellison’s sixth career Olympic medal. Along with Casey Caufhold, he won a bronze medal earlier in the mixed-team competition against India’s Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara.

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How many world titles has Brady Ellison won?

ARCHERY: APR 02 U.S. Olympic Trials Qualification - Source: Getty

Brady Ellison started his career at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Although he didn't win any medals that year, 16 years later, he has amassed five Olympic medals, four world titles, and six World Championship medals.

Ellison won his first major career medal at the 2009 World Indoor Championships where he won the gold medal with the US Archery team. He won another gold in 2012 before winning his first outdoor title at the 2013 World Championships. The 35-year-old also won his first individual world bronze medal at the 2012 Indoor Championships.

As Brady Ellison approaches the twilight of his career, he has amassed four gold medals, two silver, and four bronze medals in the World Championships. He has also won the World Field Championship four times, and the Archery World Cup six times. Ellison has competed in the Pan American Games as well, winning the gold medal six times, the first being in 2007.