U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL : LOS ANGELES--1991 : ATHLETES TO WATCH : Among 3,000 Competitors, Some Will Stand Out

DENISE PARKER

Archery

Bow hunters spend years trying to track and kill a deer. Denise Parker, America’s best female archer, got hers in minutes.

Parker, then 14, was waiting in camp on her first day of hunting while her father and mother, Earl and Valerie Parker, tried to work out the details of Denise’s license. Becoming impatient, Parker walked into the forest to study the terrain.

Within five minutes she looked up a hill and spotted a four-point buck staring back. She aimed and let her arrow fly. The deer was hit, rolled down the hill and came to rest at her feet.

Parker, 17, now spends her time shooting at fixed targets. The South Jordan, Utah, archer recently won the junior world trials and has been the United States’ top international competitor since 1987. She helped the U.S. women place third at the Seoul Games.