Lida Howell facts for kids
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Women's archery | ||
Representing the  United States |
||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 1904 St. Louis | Double national round |
| Gold | 1904 St. Louis | Double Columbia round |
| Gold | 1904 St. Louis | Team round |
Matilda "Lida" Scott Howell (born August 28, 1859 – died December 20, 1938) was an amazing American archer. She was a true champion in the early 1900s. Lida won three gold medals in archery at the 1904 Summer Olympics in Missouri. She won for the double national and Columbia rounds, and also with the US team.
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Lida Howell's Archery Career
Lida Scott was born in Lebanon, Ohio. She became interested in archery around 1878. This was after reading articles by Maurice Thompson, a famous archer. Lida quickly became very good at the sport.
Becoming a Champion Archer
In 1881, Lida won the Ohio State archery championship. She won again in 1882. In 1883, she married Millard C. Howell. That same year, she won her first national championship. Lida continued to be dedicated to archery. By 1907, she had won an incredible seventeen national titles!
Olympic Success in 1904
Lida competed in archery at the 1904 St. Louis Olympic Games. She won two individual gold medals there. Her score for the national round was 620. For the Columbia round, her score was 867. She also won a third gold medal as part of the US team.
Lida's scores in the 1895 championship set records. These records were not broken for 36 years, until 1931. She was truly a groundbreaking athlete for her time.
Why Archery Was Special
In 1904, a reporter asked Mrs. Howell why she loved archery so much. She said, "Archery is a picturesque game." She described the beautiful scene of the green field and the colorful targets. She also mentioned the "white-garbed players" with their bows and flying arrows. The reporter felt her love for archery was "inborn."
Archery was part of five early Olympic Games. It was a popular sport for upper-class women. This meant women were allowed to compete in the Olympics. Lida Scott became America's first female gold medalist in archery.
Retirement and Archery's Olympic Break
Lida retired from national competitions in 1907. After the 1920 Olympics, archery was removed from the Games. This was because there were no standard international rules for the sport. Archery did not return to the Olympics until the 1972 Games.
