Archery had its debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics and has been contested in 17 Olympiads. 105 nations have competed in the Olympic archery events, with France appearing the most often at 15 times. The most noticeable trend has been the excellence of South Korean archers, who have won 27 out of 39 gold medals in events since 1984. It is governed by the World Archery Federation. Recurve archery is the only discipline of archery featured at the Olympic Games. Archery is also an event at the Summer Paralympics.
The men's individual archery event at the 2008 Summer Olympics was part of the archery programme and took place at the Olympic Green Archery Field. Ranking Round was scheduled for 9 August. First and second elimination rounds took place on 13 August, and eights, quarterfinal, semifinals and medals matches were staged on 15 August. All archery was done at a range of 70 metres, with targets 1.22 metres in diameter.
The archery events at the 2012 Olympic Games in London were held over an eight-day period from 27 July to 3 August. Four events took place, all being staged at Lord's Cricket Ground in front of temporary stands built to accommodate up to 6,500 spectators.
The girls' individual archery event at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics was held from 18 to 20 August 2010 at the Kallang Field in Kallang, Singapore. It was one of three recurve archery events which comprised the archery programme at the inaugural Summer Youth Olympics, and featured thirty-one archers from thirty-one countries. Entry was open to female archers born between 1 January 1992 and 31 December 1993.
The women's recurve individual archery event at the 2010 Commonwealth Games was a competition held as part of the archery programme at the Yamuna Sports Complex in Delhi, India, from 4 October to 10 October 2010. It was the second time that the recurve individual event for women had been included in the Commonwealth Games and the first time it had been contested since the 1982 Games in Brisbane, Australia.
The women's individual archery event at the 2012 Olympic Games was held from 27 July to 2 August 2012 at Lord's Cricket Ground in London in the United Kingdom. The event was one of four which comprised the 2012 Olympic archery programme of sports and was the eleventh time the women's individual competition was contested as an Olympic event. Forty different nations qualified for the competition, sending a total of sixty-four archers to compete. The defending Olympic champion from 2008 was Zhang Juanjuan of China, who did not compete following her retirement in 2010.
The archery events at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro were held over a seven-day period from 6 to 12 August. Four events took place, all were staged at the Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí.
The archery events at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo took place in Yumenoshima Park. Five events were planned with a mixed team event staged for the first time.
The girls' individual archery event at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics was held from 22 to 25 August 2014 at the Fangshan Sports Training Base in Nanjing, China. One of three recurve archery events which comprised the archery programme, it was the second time the girls' individual discipline was contested at Summer Youth Olympics. Thirty-two archers from thirty-two countries entered the competition, which was open to female archers born between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 1999. The defending champion was South Korea's Kwak Ye-ji, who was unable to defend her title due to the age limitations imposed on the event.
The men's team archery event was one of 4 archery events at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
The women's individual archery event at the 2016 Summer Olympics was held from 5 to 13 August at the Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. One of four archery events as part of the 2016 Olympic catalogue of sports, it was the fourteenth time a women's individual competition was contested as a discipline at the Olympic Games. Forty different nations qualified for the event, sending a total of sixty-four archers to compete. The defending Olympic champion was Ki Bo-bae of South Korea.
The women's team archery event was one of 4 archery events at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
The women's individual recurve archery event at the 2015 Summer Universiade was held at the International Archery Center in Gwangju, South Korea from 4 July to 8 July 2015. It was the fifth time the event had been contested at the Summer Universiade and was its first appearance since the 2011 Summer Universiade, archery having not been selected as part of the sporting programme for the 2013 edition. Open to athletes aged between 17 and 28 enrolled in an undergraduate or postgraduate university programme, a total of fifty-eight archers from twenty-nine countries entered the competition.
The men's individual archery event was one of five archery events at the 2020 Summer Olympics. It was held at Yumenoshima Park. There were 64 competitors from 40 nations, with nations having either 1 or 3 archers.
The women's individual archery event was one of five archery events held at the 2020 Summer Olympics. It was held at Yumenoshima Park. There were 64 competitors from 40 nations, with each nation having either 1 or 3 archers.
The men's team archery event was one of five archery events held at the 2020 Summer Olympics. It was held at Yumenoshima Park, with the ranking round taking place on 23 July and match play on 26 July.
The mixed team archery event was one of five archery events to take place at the 2020 Summer Olympics. It was held at Yumenoshima Park, with the ranking rounds taking place on 23 July and match play on 24 July. 16 teams competed in the knockout rounds, with the qualifying teams determined by the ranking rounds in which 29 different nations had at least one archer in each of the men's and women's divisions.
The women's team archery event was one of five archery events held at the 2020 Summer Olympics. It was held at Yumenoshima Park, with the ranking round taking place on 23 July and match play on 25 July.
The women's individual recurve competition at the 2019 European Games was held from 21 to 26 June 2019 at the Olympic Sports Complex in Minsk, Belarus. It was the second time the event was held as part of the European Games archery programme. A total of 48 archers from 32 different nations entered the competition, with a maximum of three entries per country. The event offered one qualifying spot for the women's individual event at the 2020 Summer Olympics for any archer reaching the semi-finals from a nation that had not already qualified. The defending champion, Karina Winter of Germany, did not take part following her retirement from the sport.
The archery competitions at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are scheduled to run over a seven-day period, from 25 July to 4 August, at Les Invalides. 128 archers will compete across five events, with the successful mixed team recurve returning to the Olympic program for the second time.
