SYDNEY, Australia — Denise Parker bit down on her bottom lip and blinked back the tears welling up in her eyes as she regained the composure of a three-time Olympian competing in the nerve-shredding sport of archery.
"I think right now, I probably won't be doing this anymore," said Parker, moments after she and two teammates lost to Korea in Thursday morning's quarterfinals of the women's team archery tournament at the Sydney Summer Games.
"I think this has been a good run for me, and I don't want to get all emotional as I think about it," said the Salt Lake resident. "You never know what will happen four years from now. It's just a lot of time anymore, and it's tough to commit that much time."
And so concludes, at least for now, Parker's 14-year ride of international archery competition. It's a ride that has taken her to three Olympics and countless foreign countries. It's a ride that has allowed her to shoot on "The Tonight Show" set with Johnny Carson and in Central Park this summer with Regis Philbin. It's a ride that has resulted in five outdoor national championships and another seven indoor titles, a pair of Pan American gold medals, a world junior championship and a team bronze medal that she won as a 14-year-old at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games.
"They always say it's not the destination but the journey, and I think I feel that way about the Olympics and the Olympic process," Parker said.
Ousted by U.S. teammate Karen Scavotto in Sunday's first round of the women's individual competition, Parker joined Scavotto and Janet Dykman in Thursday's 16-team event. The format has each archer shooting three arrows each at the 10-ring target 90 meters away — about the length of a football field.
To the archer, the entire target appears to be about the size of a thumbtack held out at arm's length.
In Thursday's opening round, the United States trio ousted Sweden, 242-230. The Americans had an impressive nine-arrow second end, when all but one of Parker's shots scored a perfect 10. Parker's eight-pointer resulted in an end score of 88 out of a possible 90 for the team. And the United States' 242 team total was the best of not only that round but the top score from any team other than Korea through Thursday's entire tournament.
To have a chance against Korea, which has swept all three of the women's team Olympic tournaments ever held, the United States would have to repeat a similarly impressive team score. They hoped for more of the breezes and showers that surprised Sydneysiders at the start of Thursday morning.
But by the time the U.S.-Korea quarterfinal got under way, the weather was as clear and near-perfect as the Koreans' shooting. Featuring the gold, silver and bronze medalists from the earlier women's individual event, Korea shot an Olympic-record 27-arrow total of 252 to the United States' 240.
In the two rounds, the United States scored a total of 482 points, just eight shy of the Olympic record for a two-round team tournament score. Korea had a first-round bye, so its quarterfinal team score couldn't be combined with a previous total to challenge the two-round mark.
"If they're going to beat you, you want them to do well," said Parker, whose final three shots in Olympic competition were 10-10-8. "You don't want to falter yourself."
And that's the type of pressure and results that Parker has experienced previously in the Olympics. Following her team bronze as an awe-struck 14-year-old, she felt the pressure of a favorite at the 1992 Barcelona Games and finished fifth in both the individual and team events.
Thinking she would fare much better on home soil at the 1996 Atlanta Games, she failed to even make the U.S. team. Crushed, she stashed her bow away for some time, until the allure of the 2000 Sydney Games came calling. She returned to the sport, learning more about focus and handling pressure, and finished second at the U.S. Olympic Trials this year.
"This time, I think I've enjoyed the Olympics more," said the 26-year-old Parker, who will remain in Sydney until Sept. 30. "Had I gone out after '92 or '96, I think that might have haunted me."
Instead, she eyes the exit with her head held high, mindful of her Olympic ride in archery.
"You can't replace the experiences I've had," Parker said. "I've had a great 16 years and 14 years of competition."
E-MAIL: taylor@desnews.com