Simon Terry

Simon Duncan Terry (27 March 1974 – 19 July 2021) was a British archer born in Stirling, the son of Mike and Janice Terry. He grew up in Grantham, Lincolnshire, and started practising archery at age eight with his father’s help, winning his first competition a year later. By the 1992 Summer Olympics, he was an unemployed roofer. At 18, Terry made his Games debut and became the first British man to win an individual Olympic archery medal since the sport returned in 1988, claiming bronze. He also earned a team bronze at the same Games, then retired shortly after.

Thirteen years later, when London was announced as host for the 2012 Olympics, Terry took up archery again. He quickly achieved strong results, including a team gold at the 2007 World Cup stage two in Varese and an individual fourth place at the World Outdoor Championships in Leipzig, where he lost a tie-break to teammate Alan Wills (Terry scored a nine, Wills a ten). At the fourth stage of the 2007 World Cup in Dover, he beat Mexican archer Juan René Serrano in a tie-break (Serrano scored an eight, Terry a nine). This success earned him a spot at the 2008 Summer Olympics—four years earlier than he had planned, and 16 years after his double-medal debut.

In Beijing, Terry ranked seventh with 670 points, nine behind leader Serrano. He lost in the first round to 58th seed Matti Hatava, 105–104. In the team event, alongside Alan Wills and Larry Godfrey, Britain ranked fifth after the ranking round (Terry 670, Wills 661, Godfrey 657) but lost to China 214–210 in the first elimination round; China later won bronze.

For his home Games in 2012, Terry was selected at age 38. He reached the last 32 in the individual event, losing to Dan Olaru, and Great Britain lost to Ukraine in the last 16 of the team event. Those were his final international appearances, and he retired for the second time. Terry died at home in July 2021 at age 47 after fighting an aggressive cancer. He was survived by his wife, former international archer Emma Terry. As of 2024, he remains the only British male archer to win an individual Olympic archery medal since the sport’s reintroduction in 1972.