‘Blind’ world record-setting archer isn’t really blind

From Jim Litke: At one moment, speaking through an interpreter, Im described himself as farsighted and said the colors in the target — almost 77 yards away — appeared "blurry, not bad ... like a drop of paint in the water."A moment later, he said he didn't need glasses to drive or read, unless he was tired, describing his problem as "old man's eyes." At yet another, he said the vision in his left eye was 20 per cent of a normal sighted person and 30 per cent in the right. Not long after that, his coach, Oh Seon-Tek, raised that number to 60 per cent and laughed at the notion that his star pupil had any problem seeing the target at all.

Finally, after Im was asked directly a second time whether he was legally blind, he grinned widely and replied: "It's really a matter of common sense. If I were legally blind, do you really think I could participate in the Olympics? (Associated Press)

Im said he wears glasses only when he's tired and wants to read. He said his eyesight is that of a 40- or 50-year-old.

"It's really a matter of common sense,'' he said. "If I were legally blind, do you really think I could participate in this Olympics? I'd rather participate in the Paralympics. There, I'd have a much greater chance to win a gold medal.''

What can't be argued is this: You don't need to have perfect vision to be a world-class archer. In fact, you might not even need good vision.

This is a sport that relies on feel, muscle memory and practice, practice, practice. It would seem to defy logic, but the idea is that you don't want your eyes to be too locked in on the target 70 meters away. See it, then use the form you've used thousands of times. Calm your body and release. (Sun-Times Media)