2007-08-16 Sun-Sentinel

Michelle O'Donnell is a quick study.

In less than three years, the 36-year-old wife, mother and full-time architect from Weston has rapidly risen in archery to master the crossbow.

Ranked third in the nation, O'Donnell pulled off a stunning victory at the July 14-21 World Target Crossbow Championships in Bloomfield, N.J.

The left-handed O'Donnell won the gold medal in the elimination matches and took a bronze in the two-day championship event. She topped a field of 38 U.S. and international archers including Carol Pelosi, 61, of Greenbelt, Md., a veteran of the sport for 35 years with 60 indoor and outdoor victories and three world titles.

"The field was small but the competition was very fierce ... it was a real thrill winning a gold medal," said O'Donnell, a member of the Fort Lauderdale Archers Club, where she started out with lessons in compound and Olympic recurve six years ago and switched to crossbow 2 1/2 years ago.

In windy conditions, the final gold medal elimination match came down to one arrow.

"I will never forget how windy it was. ... I saw the wind flags, had everything lined up, took aim and fired right through my sights," O'Donnell said. "I watched the wind push the arrow into an eight. I thought then I left the door wide open for [Carol] to walk in but the wind was blowing harder and she shot a 7. I thought 'Oh my God.' That was one of the most exciting matches I've been in."

There are 150 registered crossbow archers in the National Crossbowmen of the United States organization, compared to more than 10,000 archers who shoot recurve or compound bows.

The sport is growing due in large part to athletes such as O'Donnell, who took it up "because of the demanding nature and precision of it."

Shooting a horizontally-held crossbow is different than shooting the two forms of vertical archery — recurve and compound. In those two styles, the string is pulled back manually and released. In crossbow, the string is drawn back, locked in place and released by a trigger.

In the world tournament, each competitor shot 90 arrows, or "bolts," at targets 45, 55 and 65 meters away.

"It's not easy to get one perfect shot and be consistent every single time," said O'Donnell, a former equestrian in dressage who was looking for a change after the birth of her daughter, Erin, now 6.

O'Donnell said she always had been fascinated with archery. There was one defining moment that stayed with her when she thought to herself "I need to get into it. ... It was at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics during the Opening Ceremony," O'Donnell said. "I saw the archer light the torch with his arrows. To me that was one of the most impressive things I have ever seen in my life. They had three or four archers do it and out of 700 shots there were only three that didn't make it. That was it for me. That one moment just fascinated me."

Her brother, R.L. Colina, an Apopka firefighter, got involved in bow hunting. O'Donnell decided it was time to pursue her fascination. She joined Fort Lauderdale Archers and started shooting the compound bow for about two years. She tried Olympic recurve but was looking for something a little more challenging.

The equipment can be expensive, particularly at the national and world-class level. Crossbows cost about $3,000. She has no sponsors for equipment or travel.

O'Donnell, a 1988 alum of Our Lady of Lourdes in Miami, was fortunate and found a left-handed crossbow for $1,000 and had it custom-fitted. She watched videos of top archers. Bill Pimm, president of the National Crossbowmen of the U.S., taught her the basics.

"It was just like the skies opened up when I found that bow. ... It was meant to be," O'Donnell said. "Everything else just fell into place for me. I have become obsessed."

Hal Hall, president of the Fort Lauderdale Archers, is a certified archery instructor and bow mechanic with more than 45 years of experience in the sport.

Hall teaches 280 kids, as young as 6, from different schools through the Broward County Children's Society and Memorial Regional Hospital. He has worked with O'Donnell and is impressed with her progress.

"Michelle is an unusual young lady," Hall said. "When she starts something she really puts everything into it. She puts more into it than most people would. When she found out she could shoot a crossbow here, she put 110 percent into it."

Sharon Robb can be reached at srobb@sun-sentinel.com