BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Following is the factbox of archery at the August 8-24 Beijing Olympic Games:

    HISTORY

    The sport of archery dates back to ancient times. The first recorded archery contest of more recent times was staged in Finsbury, England, in 1583.

    Archery joined the Olympic Games as a men's sport in 1900 in Paris and women archers began competing four years later in St Louis. Individual events were included again in 1908 and 1920 and became a fixture in 1972. Team events were added in 1988.

    The most successful Olympic archer was Belgian Hubert van Innis who won six gold medals and three silvers in 1900 and 1920.

    EVENTS

    Men's and women's individual events (64 archers in each)

    Men's and women's team events (16 teams in each)

    2004 CHAMPIONS

    Men

    Individual: Marco Galiazzo, Italy

    Team: South Korea

    Women

    Individual: Park Sung-hyun, South Korea

    Team: South Korea

    OLYMPIC PROGRAMME (FINALS ONLY)

    Aug. 10 - Women's team

    Aug. 11 - Men's team

    Aug. 14 - Women's individual

    Aug. 15 - Men's individual

    VENUE

    Olympic Green Archery Field