Im beats own world record at Lord’s 2012 archery test

South Korea’s Im Dong-hyun beat his own 72-arrow world record in the rankings round of archery’s London 2012 test event at Lord’s.

Im, who is one of the top archers in the world despite suffering from severe visual problems, held the previous record with a score of 691 from a maximum 720 and improved that mark by two points after shooting 693 on the first day of competitive archery at the home of cricket.

The London Classic knockout competition begins today with the men’s team event and continues for a week, culminating in the men’s final, for which Im will now be favourite to win after his stellar shoot. Both individual and team seedings are based on the archers’ scores in today’s ranking shoot, with Im decisively taking first spot in the men’s draw and compatriot Jung Dasomi topping the women’s scoring with 666.

Larry Godfrey was the top performer for Team GB, ranking 13th with a score of 663, while team-mates Simon Terry (646) and Alan Wills (643) placed 37th and 46th overall. In the women’s rankings, Britain’s five-time Olympian Alison Williamson qualified in 12th place with 633, Amy Oliver was 32nd with 615 and Naomi Folkard was 34th with 613.

While much of the focus of the Classic is on ironing out any logistical issues which arise from hosting such an event at Lord’s - it is the first Olympic venue to have just one main competition range - there are key medals to be won. The first of those will be handed out today in the men’s team event, with the women’s team event tomorrow and individual knockouts continuing until the finals on 9-10 October.