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Robin Sampson
Personal information
Full name	Robin David Sampson
Nationality	New Zealander
Born	23 November 1940 (age 84); Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia
Died	16 August 2024; Gisborne, New Zealand
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Sport
Country	New Zealand
Sport	Archery
Club	Richmondvale Archery Club
Achievements and titles
National finals	Open champion (1971, 1972); Clout champion (1971); Freestyle field champion (1972)

Robin David Sampson (born 23 November 1940) is a New Zealand archer who represented his country in the men's individual event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. He was the first New Zealand archer to compete at an Olympic Games.

Biography

Born in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) on 23 November 1940, Sampson later migrated to New Zealand.^[1] He settled in Hastings, where he found work with the Post Office.^[2]^[3] He became a naturalised New Zealand citizen in May 1972,^[4] less than three months before the start of the Munich Olympics.

Sampson was a member of the Richmondvale Archery Club.^[5] He came to national attention at the 1969 New Zealand national archery championships in Whangārei, where he was one of seven competitors to score over 1000 points in the FITA round and earn an international gold star.^[6] At those championships, he also finished equal second in the men's clout.^[7]

Sampson entered the 1971 national championships in Auckland as one of only two New Zealand archers to have attained the 1100 gold start award,^[8] and the reigning East Coast, Bay of Plenty and North Island archery champion,^[5] and went on to win the men's open title.^[9] He also won the men's clout, with a championship record 308 points, breaking the previous tournament record by 14 points.^[10] The following month, he won the Wellington men's archery title, with a score of 1105, 6 short of the New Zealand record.^[9]

At the 1972 national championships held at Lincoln, Sampson successfully defended his national open title.^[11] He also won the men's freestyle field championship,^[12] but did not retain the men's clout title.^[13]

The qualifying standard for the 1972 Summer Olympics was four scores of 1100 or more, which Sampson achieved with scores of 1125, 1136, 1152 and 1155. The New Zealand Archery Association (NZAA) also required two rounds over 1160 at the New Zealand Olympic trials, and Sampson gained totals of 1179 and 1228, respectively.^[2] He was subsequently nominated by the NZAA,^[2] and his selection was confirmed by the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association.^[14]

Sampson became the first New Zealander to compete in archery at an Olympic Games.^[15] On the first day of competition in the men's individual event at Munich, he reportedly suffered badly from nerves, scoring 235 out of a possible 360 points in the opening 90-metre rounds, well below the totals that he had been posting in practice.^[16] He eventually finished the tournament in 53rd place, out of 55 competitors.^[17]

References

^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Robin Sampson Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Archer named". The Press. Vol. 112, no. 32892. 15 April 1972. p. 44. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
^ 1963 Hastings electoral district: main roll of persons entitled to vote for Members of Parliament for New Zealand. Hastings: Office of the Registrar of Electors. 7 August 1963. p. 172.
^ "Robin David Sampson in the New Zealand naturalisations, 1843–1981". Ancestry.com Operations. 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Archery titles: Hastings man in lead". The Press. Vol. 111, no. 32495. 4 January 1971. p. 10. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
^ "Archery contest: seven stars achieved". The Press. Vol. 109, no. 31928. 4 March 1969. p. 15. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
^ "Archery titles: Chch woman successful". The Press. Vol. 109, no. 31930. 6 March 1969. p. 17. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
^ "Top archers enter again". The Press. Vol. 110, no. 32470. 3 December 1970. p. 14. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Archery". The Press. Vol. 111, no. 32526. 9 February 1971. p. 30. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
^ "Archer scores record total". The Press. Vol. 111, no. 32498. 7 January 1971. p. 12. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
^ "Archery title retained". The Press. Vol. 112, no. 32806. 5 January 1972. p. 3. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
^ "Archery title". The Press. Vol. 112, no. 32808. 7 January 1972. p. 3. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
^ "Archery ends: two titles to S.I." The Press. Vol. 112, no. 32809. 8 January 1972. p. 3. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
^ "69 named for Olympics". The Press. Vol. 112, no. 32905. 2 May 1972. p. 24. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
^ "Archery shoot raises $400". The Press. Vol. 112, no. 32970. 17 July 1972. p. 14. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
^ "Nervous start: archer off target". The Press. Vol. 112, no. 33016. 8 September 1972. p. 7. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
^ "Sampson 53rd". The Press. Vol. 112, no. 33019. 12 September 1972. p. 11. Retrieved 15 January 2023.