Casey Kaufhold is a 17-year-old archer looking to make her Olympic debut. She won bronze in the women’s individual recurve event at the 2019 Pan American Games and took gold in the mixed team event paired with veteran Brady Ellison. She also won gold in the women’s team event.
As part of our preparation for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, NBC Olympics sent questionnaires to a wide range of athletes to learn more about their lives on and off the field of play.
Here’s some of what we found out about Casey Kaufhold:
Tell us about your family.
My parents, Robert and Carole Kaufhold, own Lancaster Archery Supply. My dad has an archery background and made two national field teams for the U.S. My [older] brother, Conner, is also involved in archery. He also likes to hunt and fish.
What’s a typical training day like?
I train during outdoor season about four to five hours each day, and for indoors I practice three to five hours a day. I sleep about eight hours, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
What’s your favorite workout?
I like doing cardio like running, swimming, or biking. I’ll go on runs with my coach and we will race each other on the way back.
What’s the most grueling workout you’ve ever done?
When I used to do gymnastics, we would have workout days during our camps and the hardest circuit we did was a five-minute dead hang on bars and then a two-minute wall handstand followed by 20 leg lifts from a dead hang again.
What’s your first memory of archery?
My earliest memory of me doing archery is when I used to do compound archery. I was on a 3D target course and I had to “sneak up” or move closer to the targets because my bow didn’t shoot the length of the full distance. I think that memory was when I was 5 years old. I liked archery because it was so different from any other sport I had ever tried. I wanted to dedicate my life to it when I placed top three in my first national senior outdoor event.
What’s your earliest memory of watching the Olympics?
The first memory of me watching the Olympics was when Simone Biles, a U.S. gymnast, went to her first Games is 2016. At the time I wanted to go to the Olympics for gymnastics. I definitely wanted to do something I loved in a setting that big.
Is there anything you wish you could change about your sport?
I wish that archery had the rushing feeling of performing like gymnastics or figure skating does. I miss the way performing for the crowd and how moving to the music felt in gymnastics. I wish a part of archery could give me that same feeling of exhilaration.
What’s the biggest obstacle you’ve overcome?
In order to participate in the 2020 Olympics, I had to begin competing at 70 meters at 14 years of age. I skipped over valuable competition years at 50 and 60 meters in order to achieve my goals.
What’s your music of choice while training?
My go-to song before a competition is “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen. I like a lot of older music. My top five songs on my playlist are “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” by Paul Anka, “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass, “Careless Whisper” by George Michael, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye, and “My Girl” by The Temptations.
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