Khatuna Lorig’s quest to qualify for the 2016 Olympics ended today when the West Hollywood resident and her two teammates lost to Ukraine, 6-2, in a quarterfinal match at the Final World Qualifying Tournament at Antalya, Turkey.
The U.S. needed to finish in the top three to have two additional female archers in the Olympics. Mackenzie Brown of Flint, Texas, who finished first at the U.S. Olympic Teams Trials, which concluded May 30, will be the lone female U.S. archer at the Olympics. Lorig finished third.
The U.S. lost the first set, 52-50, and tied the second, 52-52. The third set was tied after each team fired five arrows. Ukraine had a nine on its final arrow. Lorig shot last for the U.S., needing a 10 to give it the victory. She fired a nine, ending the set in a 54-54 tie and Ukraine leading the match 4-2. Ukraine got the seven it needed on the final arrow of the fourth set fora match-clinching 50-49 victory.
Ukraine defeated Estonia, 5-3, in the semifinals and Italy, 5-1, to win the gold medal. Taiwan joined Ukraine and Italy in qualifying for the Olympics by defeating Estonia, 6-0, in the bronze medal match. The U.S. defeated Mongolia in a shoot-off in its first-round match that broke a 4-4 tie.
A match consists of three or four sets, with each set consisting of two arrows per archer. The winner of each set receives two points. If a set is tied, each team receives one point. The first team reaching five points wins the match. If the score is tied after four sets, each archer fires one arrow in an attempt to break the tie.
The 42-year-old Lorig was seeking to compete in her sixth Olympics. Lorig is second behind Brown among Americans in the women’s recurve world rankings compiled by the World Archery Federation, the sport’s international governing body, and 19th overall. She won the gold medal in the women’s individual competition in last year’s Pan American Games.
Lorig was the top U.S archer in both of the last two Olympics, finishing fourth in the individual event in 2012 and fifth in 2008. She won a bronze medal in the team event in 1992, competing for the Unified Team, as the team representing 12 of the republics of the former Soviet Union was known. Lorig competed for her native Georgia in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.
Lorig taught Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence how to shoot to prepare for her starring role in the 2012 film “The Hunger Games.”
