Mason City archer hopes to add Olympic gold to his silver-bronze collection

July 14, 2004

By JEFF LAMPE of the Journal Star

MASON CITY - What might have happened, Terry Wunderle wondered out loud, had he let his son Vic keep the golf clubs instead of the bow and arrow?

"I still get in trouble for that. Vic and Tiger Woods are the same age. (Vic's) mother brought home a set of golf clubs when he was younger and I said, 'Nah, take them back. He's going to be an archer, not a golfer,' " said Terry Wunderle, who coached both golf and archery at the time. "Like (Vic) tells me, 'Look at Tiger Woods today. He's at the top of his game, I'm at the top of my game. Look how much Tiger is making and what I'm making.'

"He said, 'Dad, you could have taught me golf instead.' He's got a point there."

But as the elder Wunderle noted, his son has something Tiger Woods does not: silver and bronze Olympic medals won at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia.

So while the sport might not yet have made him wealthy, competitive archery still has been good to Mason City native Vic Wunderle.

"I probably would have done a little better with the golf clubs, financially anyway," he said. "But I'm really happy with what I'm doing. I love it. It's a lot of fun and I don't see any changes anytime soon. If I could do anything in the world right now, I'd still do what I'm doing."

What he's doing right now is practicing for next month's games in Athens, Greece. Last month Wunderle won easily at the U.S. Olympic trials in Mason, Ohio, for his second Summer Games berth and yet another entry on a championship-studded resume.

Such success is a testament to the work ethic Wunderle has shown throughout his 28 years.

Hard work pays off

Comparing any athlete to Woods is obviously a stretch. But he and Wunderle share traits beyond just attractive, blonde-haired girlfriends.

Both were introduced to their sports at an early age. Both have obvious natural talent yet have practiced intensely, with a focus few peers can match.

And both have achieved success ahead of their years in sports that require as much mental toughness as physical prowess.

"Sometimes I'm very amazed myself wondering what is in Vic's heart that provides that drive," said Jeanne Wunderle, Vic's mother. "He could have taken up other sports, wanted to go hang out with buddies and do lots of other things. He has spent so many hours right here doing his archery. He has become focused and has fallen in love with the sport.

"No one is forcing him to do this."

There's been no need to force him. Since he was 5, Vic has been passionate about shooting arrows into targets.

At age 6, he won the first archery tournament he entered. Since then, he has won almost every archery event he's contested. He has 30 national championships, four U.S. titles, six gold medals in the Pan American Games and several other national and international titles.

Along the way, he graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in wildlife and fisheries sciences and somehow maintained a grueling practice regime.

Since graduating, archery has turned into a full-time job. Motivational speeches, product endorsements and other sponsor commitments help pay the bills. But seven-hour shooting sessions still are the cornerstone of Wunderle's daily routine.

"In general, hard work is a good thing that generally pays off," he said. "You can overtrain. But I'm going to do everything I can to be every bit as prepared as I can for these Olympics."

Wunder-kid

Similar preparation paid off at the Sydney Olympics. Vic was branded a "Wunder-kid" and called a surprise medalist by some after he placed behind only Simon Fairweather of Australia in the individual finals and helped the U.S. team to bronze.

During a slow first week for U.S. athletes, Wunderle was one of two Americans with multiple medals.

None of the Wunderle family considered that a surprise, though. Certainly not Terry, who also has seen Vic's sisters Sally and Dawn succeed on an international level.

"I didn't feel he was an underdog. Our whole goal four years ago and still the goal now is to peak at Olympic time," Terry Wunderle said. "At trials he won very easily, but that wasn't his A-game. I notice now watching his targets when he shoots, he's at a higher level than he was a couple weeks ago."

He saw the same progression in his son's shooting four years ago. Actually, much of Vic's preparation has been similar to 2000.

New hair, new girlfriend

That's not to say Wunderle is unchanged from his last Olympic appearance. For one thing, he has a new, spiked, gelled hairstyle.

"I've been told it's a big improvement over what my hair was at Sydney," he said. "Maybe your readers can take a poll on my Web site, vicwunderle.com, and let me know whether it's better or worse."

Along with the new 'do is a new girlfriend, Joy Fahrenkrog. A former world-class rower, Fahrenkrog switched to competitive archery 1 1/2 years ago. With Wunderle as a coach, she placed sixth at the U.S. trials.

"He really transformed my form. I had a very good start and he took me from the basics to an internationally suitable form," said Fahrenkrog, a native of Castle Rock, Colo. "Vic has an incredible mentality for the sport. He was born with it. Whereas I'm learning to think the way he thinks, it's innate for him."

Archery prowess isn't the only attraction for Fahrenkrog, who met Wunderle after he waited patiently by her target at a competition.

"He stood there until I met him. He didn't leave," Fahrenkrog said. "He told me later if I had blown him off he would never have tried again.

"But if I had known the kind of man he is I would have gone to his target and stood there and waited until he introduced himself."

And what kind of man is he?

"He's a Christian. He loves children. He's very accommodating when it comes to autographs," she said. "He's got a great reputation among international athletes."

By the middle of next month, he also could be a gold medalist.

Golden future?

Archery competition in Athens starts Aug. 12 with a ranking round, shot one day before Opening Ceremonies. Single-elimination shoots are Aug. 16-17. Individual finals are Aug. 19, and team finals are Aug. 21.

While problems with construction and organization in Athens are daily news, archers remain relatively unconcerned.

"One of the neat things about the archery competition is that it's going to be held inside the 1896 Olympic stadium," Wunderle said. "So our venue has been done for 108 years. And it's a very beautiful place. You can see the Parthenon and the Acropolis in the background."

It's in that historic setting he hopes to complete his medal set.

"That would definitely be a highlight to anyone's career, to win an Olympic gold medal," Wunderle said. "Top of the podium. Final step."

A realistic final step, too. Since archery was recognized as a medal sport, in 1972, American archers have won gold in five of the seven Summer Games in which they've competed.

As top dog on the world's traditional top team, doesn't that make Wunderle the favorite?

"I know both personally and as a team, if I'm shooting well and we're shooting well as a team, we have as good a chance of winning a gold medal as anyone out there," he said. "If we're shooting bad, it doesn't matter, there's any one of a dozen guys that will beat us on an off day."