VIC
Mason City's own Vic Wunderle has once again traveled to the far reaches of the world to use his unbelievable skills and talents to bring Olympic Gold home to Mason County. Vic is now in Beijing preparing for his first competition later this week. He not only carried his archery equipment all the way to China but he also takes with him quite an impressive resume:
Everyone
in Central Illinois is wishing Vic all the best in his third
Olympic appearance, a very impressive accomplishment in its own right. We
are going to help everyone follow Vic's progress by updating and adding
information here daily, provide you with interesting links direct to
Beijing, and we have made arrangements with the
IOC Media Center to receive the latest information on Vic and the US Olympic
Archery Team. I have noticed in my website reports lately that we are
getting a much higher number of visitors from China to the website, please
take a moment to say hello on your visit. I am also placing a Blog online
where everyone can wish Vic well. Here is Vic's
official Olympic Profile from NBC:
| Born: | March 04, 1976 Lincoln, IL |
|---|---|
| Hometown: | Mason City, IL |
| Residence: | Lighthouse Point, FL |
| Ht: / Wt: | 6'0" / 160 lbs |
| Olympics: | 2004, 2000 |
| Event(s): | Individual; Men's team |
Holding on for Beijing
During the three-stage Olympic Trials, Vic Wunderle never fell out
of the top three -- an important item, given there were only three quotas to
be had for the U.S. -- but his Olympic qualification certainly had the most
drama attached to it, as he held a slight lead going into the final day of
competition. But the two-time 
Olympian,
who actually won the 2004 and 2000 Trials, closed the door early with a 4-3
round-robin match record on the last day and a third-best score of 769.
Wunderle joins Brady Ellison and Butch Johnson as members of the 2008
U.S. Olympic team.
Only fitting
It might have been painful for the 2002 Texas A&M graduate to miss
out on these Games, considering Wunderle helped earned the quota spots that
were up for grabs
at the
Trials. Along with Ellison and Johnson, he was a part of the sixth-place
team at the 2007 World Championships that earned three quota spots for the
U.S.
Looking for the set
Wunderle's first Olympic trip resulted in two medals -- a silver
for his individual performance and a bronze for the team competition. His
2004 trip was still a positive one but lacked the same results with just a
quarterfinal appearance in the individual competition and a fourth-place
finish in the team.
Small-town beginnings
From the small rural location of Mason City, Ill., Wunderle got his
start in shooting at the age of five when his dad, Terry, made him a bow
from a limb off a willow tree. Vic would practice shooting at stumps and
trees with the child-proofed version of his bow -- Terry put cloth over the
arrow and taped up the bow to prevent Vic from
hurting
himself. His sisters, Sally and Dawn, both competed in the sport as well.
Sally, now with the last name of Seipp-Wunderle, is ranked in the top 200 in
the world for women's compound.
All-American Aggie
From a graduating class of 65 in his high school, Wunderle ventured
down to College Station, Texas, to be part of a much bigger school in Texas
A&M. He lived in a trailer his freshman year to stay in the cheapest housing
possible and was an NCAA All-American in 1995, 1997 and 1998. He postponed
his senior year to concentrate on training. He finished school in December
2002 with a major in wildlife and fisheries sciences.
Got feedback or message for Vic, CLICK HERE.
I began shooting archery at the age of five. Both my father and grandfather shot archery for hunting and recreation. As for me, I guess there is just something with little boys and anything that shoots, whether it is a slingshot, BB gun, or bow and arrow. My first bow was made from a limb off of the willow tree in my back yard. My father gave me an arrow he had taped a piece of cloth around the end of so I couldn’t hurt anyone. I would run around the yard all day shooting at trees with my newly acquired toy.
A couple of years later my father brought me to an archery tournament with him. Unbeknown to me, I won the under 12 age category. I was too young to read the score board and my father would not tell me that I had won because he was afraid I would be too excited the remainder of the day. At the end of the tournament, the awards were given out. All of the kids got participation medals except for me. I felt a little sad because I was left out. Then the awards were given for third place, second place, and finally when it was time for first, my name was called. I had won my very first tournament! From there I went on to many other local, state sectional, national, and finally world titles.
After graduating from Illini Central high school in 1994, I began college at
Texas A&M University. At Texas A&M, I competed on the pistol, rifle,
archery, and fishing teams. I won and placed in tournaments from a local
level to national championships. In addition, I was involved with several
bible study groups. On several occasions I took off from school and work to
train full time for the Olympics and the Olympic tryouts. I finally
graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Wildlife and Fisheries
Sciences in December, 2002. During my training and travels, I also took
classes at Bradley University, San Diego State
University, Blinn College, and
Collin County Community College.
I tried out for the US Olympic archery team 3 times before I made it. In 1992, as a 16 year old boy, I finished 16th place in the tryouts. In 1996, I finished 6th place in the Olympic trials. I lost to the best in the world though as our team went on to win the Olympic Gold Medal that year. In the 2000 Olympic trials, I finished an exciting first place by almost a 100-point margin. I spent the year training at the Olympic Training Center in San Diego and at my parents’ home in Illinois. I then got to travel to Sydney, Australia and represent the US in the world’s greatest sporting event where I was fortunate enough to bring home an Olympic Individual Silver Medal and a Team Bronze Medal.
Four years later, I again finished first in the US Olympic trials and went to Athens, Greece to represent the United States. In the individual competition, I was defeated by the eventual Olympic Gold Medalist by a mere point in my quarter-final match, landing me in 8th place. In the team competition, I shot well but the team came up one point short of winning our semi-final match that would have assured us either a gold or silver medal. The bronze medal then escaped our grasp by two points landing the team in the 4th place position, just out of the medals.
Currently I am part of the 2008 US Team training full time towards the Olympics in China. I am really excited about our prospects of returning to the Olympic podium. I have the Olympic Bronze. I have the Olympic Silver. Nothing would please me more than to bring the Olympic Gold back to the United States.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/index.html http://vicwunderle.com/index.html
http://en.beijing2008.cn/sports/archery/index.shtml http://www.olympic.org/uk/index_uk.asp
Play the official Olympic Archery Game
