THE SEOUL GAMES / DAY 13 : Archery : Parker, at 14, Is a Fast, Rising Star

As the other Olympic archers carefully prepare for their shots, take aim slowly and fire their arrows in a kind of drawn-out agony of nerves, Denise Parker casually walks up to the shooting line, sticks an arrow in her high-tech bow, and shoots.

One, two, three shots, and her round is over in about 35 seconds. As her competitors struggle on, Parker strolls back to the shaded waiting area and puts on her Walkman to listen to Poison, her favorite heavy metal band.

“It’s kind of hard rock,” she explained. “It’s for relaxation.”

So it goes for the 14-year-old Parker, the youngest athlete on the U.S. Olympic squad and the youngest archer competing in the Seoul Games. Some of her opponents have practiced the sport throughout Parker’s lifetime and are old enough to be her mother. But none of them have shot an arrow through a Lifesaver on the “Tonight Show,” as Parker did a few months ago. Only a few of them are as good as Parker, who is expected to finish in the the top eight.

At the games of the XXIV Olympiad, Parker is the closest thing on the American squad to a Mary Lou Retton. A 105-pound, blond pixie with an endearing teen-age lexicon, she has a smile that never quits and a chance to win a medal. All are important ingredients for attracting the kind of adoring media attention that she’s enjoying. “It’s really fun being here and being able to meet different people from different countries and stuff,” said Parker. “It’s really neat.”

Youth has many advantages in life, and for Parker it means a lack of nervousness. Performing in the Olympics is easier for her than doing the “Tonight Show,” which also was neat. “It seems like I was a lot more nervous for that,” she said. “I know what to do here, I’m used to it, but I’m not used to going out on the stage and doing trick shots.”

Like a strong wind, nerves are an archer’s enemy--some reportedly use a touch of alcohol or beta blockers to steady their hands. But Parker doesn’t have to worry about that. Theories abound on why Parker shoots so quickly and seems so carefree during competition. The most appealing hypothesis holds that at age 14, she does not comprehend that the Olympics is the big time. “She’s too young to get nervous about this,” a U.S. official said with a laugh.

Her archery career began four years ago when her stepfather, Earl Parker, put a bow in her hands in the hope that she might someday be good enough to hunt with him near their home in South Jordan, Utah.

Parker won the indoor national championships in the junior division in 1987, chalking up records for her division and scoring higher than the open champion. Parker went on to win a gold medal in the Pan Am Games, and this year she finished first in the indoor nationals.

The high point came at the U.S. trials in May, when she set a record for American women with 1,301 points. The world mark, though, is 37 points above that, set by South Korean Kim Su Nyung, the favorite to win the gold in Seoul.

Archery has seen some phenomenal, but unheralded, American successes: Darrell Pace won the gold and Richard McKinney the silver in the 1984 men’s competition. With a new ace, Jim Barrs, joining the squad this year, the U.S. male archers are expected to win the individual and team competitions Friday and Saturday.

Parker also should do well. If she doesn’t win a medal, that’s OK. At her age, there’s always the Olympics in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 or . . .