Matteo Campagna
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After a perfect shot, the elite archer feels more relief than joy

1 study · 65 archers measured

A single study says so, and it is a study of words rather than measurements. Sixty-five high-level Korean archers, with an average age of 18 and an average of 327 out of 360 in 70-metre matches, answered open written questions about how they get to an X, phase by phase. In the phase after the shot, positive emotions account for 74 mentions out of a hundred, and the most frequent is relief, with 38: on its own it outweighs fun (11), thrill (7), pleasure and excitement (6 each) put together. One of the answers quoted in the paper puts it simply: after the X, it was as if all the pressure had disappeared. But what is counted is how often a word comes up, not how strong the emotion is or how many archers feel it, and the sample is made up of young Koreans from university and professional teams: elsewhere, or at another level, the picture could change. One detail also fails to add up: the archers report an average of 4.5 Xs over their whole career, few for people who shoot 327 out of 360 at 70 metres, and it is not clear what each of them counted as an X.

Also phrased as: "emotions after the shot"; "relief after an X"; "how archers feel after a ten"; "emotions of Korean archers"; "pressure and relief in archery"

In practice

Among archers it is said that at a certain level a ten is no longer cause for celebration: it is what is expected, and when it comes it lifts a weight rather than prompting a cheer.

Evidence

  • 2025
    For Archers Published later

    65 high-level Korean archers (55 per cent women, average age 18, average of 327 out of 360 in 70-metre matches, at least one X in their career), an open-ended questionnaire with content analysis across the phases of the shot. In the phase after the shot, positive emotions account for 74 mentions out of a hundred: relief 38, fun 11, thrill 7, pleasure 6, excitement 6, coolness 4, uplifted mood 2. The second theme is cognitive affirmation, 14 mentions, 9 of them for the confidence that comes from past successes. What is counted is mentions, not people or the intensity of the emotion.

    Aim high, hit ×10: psychological strategies driving the success of South Korean archers · Joonyoung Lee, Suyoung Hwang

Status history

  1. 1990 Not studied No one in the registry's bibliography had yet asked archers what they feel after a shot in the centre: the question left no trace.
  2. 2025 Reported The first data arrive, and they are qualitative. Sixty-five high-level Korean archers give written answers to open questions about the phases of the shot. After an X, positive emotions account for 74 mentions out of a hundred, and the most frequent is relief, with 38, well ahead of fun (11), thrill (7), pleasure and excitement (6 each). A single study, which counts words rather than measuring emotions: reported.

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Research lines

Cite
APA

Campagna, M. (2026). After a perfect shot, the elite archer feels more relief than joy (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/relief-after-a-perfect-shot

BibTeX
@misc{campagna2026_sollievodopoildieci,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {After a perfect shot, the elite archer feels more relief than joy},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/relief-after-a-perfect-shot},
  note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

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