Truly awesome. The way that flame is blowing told him there's at least a 5mph wind. I don't know his distance, height of target, trajectory needed to make a hit ;but I'm pretty sure he practiced this shot beforehand. Either way, awesome shot. I would NOT want that pressure/weight on my shoulders!
This is why I love target shooting and Olympic recurves. I have a hard time hitting within 3" @ 77 yards w/ my current compound consistently. At 60 yards I can sometimes hit the ping pong ball I'm aiming at. I do have junk 0.019 pins on a entry level Trophy Ridge package sight attached to a Bear Mauler. It's what got me to this point, traditional REAL archery shooting instinctively from my Tomahawk Diamond SS Long Bow, 55lbs@28" & I keep my 70# set at 55 also. I just read though that these variable weight compounds are designed to perform best at their peak level, so, I may torque my limbs down & see what 70#'s does on my 60yrd pin. If Byron preferred 70# Long Bows, I guess I should experiment, as I've been leaning towards a 35-45lb recurve for long target sessions. This entire Traditional level is new to me in a way. I shot fiberglass junk bows as a Boy Scout and teen but The Tomahawk is amazing albeit I'm limited to 25 yards MAXIMUM at this time. I'm learning as I go. I know THIS bow is capable of unbelievable accuracy at farther distances. I just need the right arrows set up correctly and to learn everything that goes with. I'm strictly either full instinctive aiming or target sights. I don't even know HOW to gap shoot or tab crawl.
Ideally, I will one day get ONE good riser and several sets of ILF limbs. There's a saying in the shooting world, "Beware of the man with ONE gun" & I find that to be true. Although as a Christian I try not to covet anything,I admit I admire some Men's extensive gorgeous wood bow collections. Hoyts, Bob Lee's, Black Widows w/ their limbs attached to the belly not face of riser, all interesting.
Mr. Antonio Rebollo will be in a annals of History for that shot; but few will remember him, his name. I know I didn't know it until reading & watching this here. Thanks to the OP for sharing. Good morning coffee entertainment as I love obscure facts in History.
Nice shooting under pressure after a LOT of practice with a Howatt Mamba. I'm confident there was a back-up ignitor, as safety would require, but he hit it fair and square.
Did you notice the somewhat awkwardness in his legs as he moved into position? Mr. Rebollo was a para-olympian. That was a thrilling shot. I saw it when he made it. Man, the guy has nerves of steel.
"How far was the shot?" From the field to the cauldron holding the the Olympic Flame. Mr. Robollo had about a fifteen to twenty foot boundary to "hit" directly above the gas outlet and still ignite the flame. Still, if you watch the arrow flight, and the time it took to get there, you will know it wasn't a gimmee shot by any stretch, especially in the dark. Some folks I suspect will be trying to find some sort of conspiracy theory. I even heard someone say that it was automatically ignited and fail safe, in an effort to diminish what he accomplished. Little minds come up with little issues. It was the best torch lighting in Olympic history in my lifetime and I still love to go watch that again and again.
Jim Easton spent millions getting the IOC to admit that shot and developing the arrow and the practice dummies.It was to be shot with Easton equipment, but when the people trying to be picked for the shot found they had to aim up into the sky with the Easton bow they turned to the Mamba and were able to hold the tip on a pennant inside the arena for a positive aiming point. At least that's what Mr. Robollo told me in a telephone conversation after the Olympics.
I saw a video of the practice and events leading up to the shot some years back. I cannot find it online now, however. It nay have been on TV after the 92 Olympics aired or on a bews story. In that video it mentioned the failsafe measures in place, but they were not needed. Mr. Rebello made the shot and it could not have been better. But, they did have a measure in place so that it would ignite if he failed. If I can find that video I will post a link.
The build-up would not have been so much had there not been a backup plan. Gladly, it was never needed.
"It was to be shot with Easton equipment, but when the people trying to be picked for the shot found they had to aim up into the sky with the Easton bow they turned to the Mamba and were able to hold the tip on a pennant inside the arena for a positive aiming point. At least that's what Mr. Robollo told me in a telephone conversation after the Olympics..."
And all these years later, his bows are still the slowest in the sport. ;)
I remember watching that shot on TV. When I realized the torch was to be be lit with a flaming arrow I was gobsmacked. What a great and original idea. The arrow arcing through the night was a thing of beauty. And Mr Robollo's execution of the shot was perfection itself.
I agree with George that it was far and away the best torch lighting that I've ever seen. Thanks for the reminder Buzz.
"So Barcelona wins for the ceremony, but at Athens you had a better seat?"
Yup.
I'm sure that shot in '92 encouraged a lot of people to try archery.
In 2001, I was asked by a scout group in New Mexico (where I lived at the time) to help them with an "arrow of light" ceremony. They wanted to know if I could shoot flaming arrows during the ceremony. I thought of that shot in '92 and told them I'd give it a try. So for a couple weeks I tried to figure out how to shoot a flaming arrow. But every time I shot the arrow, the flame went out, no matter what I did. I tried wrags soaked in diesel, cotton balls with vaseline, and several other things. But every time, the flame would get blown out as soon as I released the string. I didn't realize that the arrow used in Barcelona had a cone on it to block the wind.
So I ended up compromising and taped the caps of road flares to my arrows. I handed an arrow to each boy going through the ceremony and they lit it in a fire and handed it back to me. Then I shot it into the night sky. They all landed in a safe sandy area that a friend of mine was hiding near, to make sure none of the arrows started a fire.
It all went very well and the boys and scout leaders were very impressed. I have to admit those arrows looked very cool going through the air. My buddy told me later that all five of the arrows landed in a group about 5' in diameter in the sand. That was about 200 yards from where I was standing. LOL
A replica of that arrow hangs in the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA. When I was coaching there, I walked by it every day and wondered if any of the students I was working with had ever even seen that lighting ceremony.
The shot was very impressive, but when I saw that shot I went out and bought a Mamba, and was not disappointed in it's capabilities.
I'm not taking anything away from Mr. Robollo's shooting capabilities, but you folks are forgetting that Mr. Hatfield made that bow, I give him as much if not more credit for that piece in history, Mr. Robollo's chances of hitting his mark with any other bow was slim to none.
Thank You Larry for your skill and craftsmanship all these years.
