The surprising round-of-32 defeat on Thursday by Chinese Taipei’s Lei Chien-ying eliminated world-ranked archer Casey Kaufhold, meaning American women will be barred from the Olympics podium for a minimum of four more years.
For the first time since the late Luann Ryon won gold in Montreal in 1976, Kaufhold’s 7-3 defeat to the world No. 36 put an end to the chances of an American woman winning a medal in this competition.
Jennifer Mucino of Boston and Catalina GNoriega of San Diego, the other two American women competing in this tournament, have also been eliminated. In the 64th round, Kaufhold was eliminated along with GNoriega and Mucino.
The Lancaster, Pennsylvania, archer, 20, choked back tears as she expressed her gratitude to every one of her family and friends for their unwavering support.
“It was not what I had anticipated,” Kaufhold said to NBC Sports at the archery range, Les Invalides, a well-known park and monument in Paris that is only a short distance from Napoleon’s grave. “But I want to congratulate my opponent.”
Kaufhold commended Lei, the 2019 world champion and Rio bronze medallist.
“Anyone can shoot good at any time, but Lei is truly exceptional,” stated Kaufhold. She was a former world champion. and it’s okay since she was just marginally better than I was today.
According to the world No. 1, she wasn’t at her best on Thursday.
“I’ve been trembling a lot today, and it’s challenging to aim steadily when you’re trembling so much. In the future, I’m just going to downplay that,” Kaufhold, who is still in mixed competition, declared.
“Anything may happen up there, so when I’m anxious, I either imagine anxious things or tremble nervously. That’s exactly what was released today.