Archer Nichols heads to third Olympic Games

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COLLEGE STATION - Jennifer Nichols enjoys the quiet, contemplative nature of archery, which on most days is a far cry from the cinematic variety displayed in "The Hunger Games," "Brave" and "The Avengers," the three films that are pushing the sport into pop culture consciousness as the London Olympics approach.

Nichols, 28, has spent countless days during the past three years on the A&M archery range, sheltered by the A&M tennis center, Mount Aggie - a small hill overlooking the Pemberthy Rec Sports Complex - and a berm that protects wandering passersby from errant shots by beginning archers.

First she shoots. Then she walks.

Actually, she walks more than she shoots. Archers have four minutes to shoot six arrows but generally finish with time to spare. When the horn sounds, they spend 2½ to three minutes walking to the target 70 meters away, retrieving arrows and returning to the firing line.

For a woman who defines herself in part by love of her sport, in part by her sheer joy in being an Aggie and above all things through her plain-spoken, devout Christianity, the walk back and forth from firing line to target isn't a bad analogy for everyday life.

"The vast majority of the analogies I see deal with my walk of faith," Nichols said. "When you get to the end, to the target, you see the results of everything you did. You do it over and over again with archery. But you don't get multiple chances at life.

"Another thing is that it's important to the archer to feel the true shot - to be able to let go and believe the arrow is going in the right direction. Without that trust and belief, you're not going to hit the target. It's the same way in life. You can't try to control it all the way through. A controlled shot typically ends up as a mistake. If you want the arrow to fly, you have to let it go."

Clearly, Nichols has more on her mind than arrows, targets and medals as she prepares for her third Olympics but her first since moving from her home of Cheyenne, Wyo., to compete with the A&M club team, perennial champions of U.S. Collegiate Archery.

Archer Jennifer Nichols has spent hours on the range at Texas A&M after a college search with her sister brought them to College Station. Nichols came to Texas having competed in two Olympics, and she heads to her third this month. less Archer Jennifer Nichols has spent hours on the range at Texas A&M after a college search with her sister brought them to College Station. Nichols came to Texas having competed in two Olympics, and she heads ... more Photo: Smiley N. Pool Photo: Smiley N. Pool Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Archer Nichols heads to third Olympic Games 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

Some signs are visible. She has her Aggie ring as she prepares to complete work on a political science degree. She has her engagement ring as she prepares for a Sept. 1 wedding to Chris Hardy, an A&M graduate attending South Texas College of Law. In fact, she's getting a jump on the ceremony with her Olympic Games quiver, which reads "Hardy USA."

And, of course, she has a book of Bible verses that she has memorized and keeps in her bow case.

Some are appropriate to competition, like Psalm 144:1: "Blessed be the Lord, my strength, who teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight." Some place winning and losing into context, like Colossians 3:2: "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." Others offer spiritual comfort, like Lamentations 3:24: "The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore I will hope in him."

"I'm kind of a planner," Nichols said. "So I love to think about plans for my wedding. I'll pray and keep my mind at peace. Sometimes I think about the competition. I visualize what is going to happen.

"It puts things into perspective for me. This is important, but it's not the goal of my life. The walk helps me remember to focus on my true goal, which is to glorify God."

Unlikely path

Even with all the walking and planning, Nichols could not have constructed the reality of her life.

She is the eldest of five children who grew up in an evangelical Christian family in Wyoming.

Nichols took up archery at age 12 and turned professional at 17. She is a three-time Pan American Games champion and a two-time Olympian entering London, advancing to the quarterfinals in 2004 and to the second round in 2008.

After the Beijing Games, she and her younger sister, Amanda, went hunting for colleges. A&M was not on their list despite the efforts of A&M coach Frank Thomas, a coach of the 2004 Olympic team.

"Frank Thomas kept calling and asked, 'What do I have to do to get you to come to College Station?' " she said. "We talked about their program, and it sounded like a really great place, and he offered both my sister and me scholarships. One month later, we were full-blown Aggies."

Finding her place

The sisters threw themselves into archery, contributing to three national championships and into Breakaway, the weekly non-denominational campus Bible study group.

"I can't imagine life without being an Aggie," Nichols said. "The archery team was really the biggest appeal, but as I came here and learned the culture, I really loved the values and the traditions."

She found someone to love as well. Nichols said she noticed Hardy in a political science class "and thought he was pretty good-looking. But I'm not a forward sort of girl. I didn't know how I would ever meet him.

"But I kept seeing him all over campus, and this is a big campus. It's something if you keep seeing someone," she said. "One day, after an early class, I saw him sitting on a bench in front of Evans Library. I had a box of donuts, and I offered him a donut and introduced myself."

Given Nichols' background, Thomas said, that was quite a bold step.

"She did not kiss a man until she got engaged. That was her belief. Her sister, too," Thomas said. "She has meant the world to us. She is the best female archer in the country, and the beautiful thing about her is that she is a ten-times better person."

'Dialing it back' soon

Nichols has qualified for archery's World Cup final, the first U.S. woman to do so, and will compete in Tokyo at the end of September. After that, however, "I'll be dialing it back a little bit," she said.

The sport of archery, however, has never been more visible. One of Nichols' teammates, Khatuna Lorig, was actress Jennifer Lawrence's instructor for the archery scenes for her character in "The Hunger Games."

"We've been one of those sports that has always been there but under the radar. Most people don't even know we're an Olympic sport," Nichols said. "But with all the movies coming out, we've refused to go unnoticed any longer."

U.S. archers hope to make themselves heard, too. Brady Ellison of Chula Vista, Calif., is the top-ranked men's archer in the world, and the women's team of Nichols, Lorig and Miranda Leek qualified last month for the Olympics in the women's team event for the first time since 2004, clinching a spot in the individual event as well for Lorig and Nichols.

"I think our chances are very good," Nichols said. "Any medal would be the perfect conclusion to a long, enjoyable career. I see this as my last year of doing this full-time, and a medal would be the greatest thing."

david.barron@chron.com