THE FIRST AMERICAN TO WIN MEDALS AT FIVE CONSECUTIVE OLYMPIC SUMMER GAMES, DOUBLE TRAP AND SKEET SHOOTER KIMBERLY RHODE HOPES TO ADD TO HER REMARKABLE HAUL AT RIO 2016.
The USA Kimberly Rhode was at typically majestic form in the women's skeet competition at London 2012, earning gold with a joint world-record score of 99 out of 100. It had been the third time the 33-year-old had topped the Olympic podium, 16 years after winning her first shooting gold at The atlanta area 1996.
Reacting to the fifth Olympic medal of her career, she said: "I don't think it has really sunk it yet. It has just been a whirlwind of emotions. I want to run, scream, cry and jump down and up. I just don't know which one to do first. very well
SHOOTING’S YOUNGEST OLYMPIC CHAMPION
Born in Whittier, Cal, Rhode learned her enthusiasm for shooting as a young girl. Specialising in double trap, she earned her first world subject at the age of only 13 and got just turned 17 when she became the most youthful ever gold-medallist in her sport, dominating the diploma round and the last at Atlanta 1996 with respective scores of 108 and 141 points.
Following winning bronze behind Sweden's Pia Hansen and Italy's Deborah Gelisio at Sydney 2000, Rhode become the last ever women's Olympic double trap champion at Athens 2004, beating the Republic of Korea's Shelter Bona to the yellow metal medal by an one point.
The case was then fallen from the Olympic program and replaced by skeet. "Switching events was one of the more challenging things in my job, " reflects Rhode. "I was competing against people who was simply doing it 20 or 31 years. "
Undeterred, Rhode made a seamless change with her new event, in which shooters stand in a fixed position and take aim at clays launched by two traps in a specific order. After tying with Italy's Chiara Cainero and Germany's Christine Brinker in the Beijing 2008 last with an Olympic record score of 93, Rhode eventually had to accept silver after two shoot-offs, with Cainero taking the gold.
RIO AND BEYOND
A year after completing her medal collection, Rhode suffered an important problem when her trusty Perazzi shotgun was stolen. Bereft at the loss of that gun she called Old Faithful and which had accompanied her at her first four Video games, the American shooter was given a new one by her fans.
The replacement worked well, so well in reality Rhode decided to make use of it at London, even though Good old Faithful had been found and returned to her in the meantime. The American shooter will use the new gun yet again in Rio and, if she has her way, well into the future.
"Shooting is a sport that you can have a good career at, inch she explained. "The earliest medallist in history was Oscar Swan, and this individual was 72 when taken part in his last Olympics. I think I have a few more Olympics left in me. inches
The 2015 Pan North american Games champion, Rhode attained selection for her 6th Olympic Games by easily winning the US Tests in May, something your woman describes as "a huge honour".
"The first five Olympics I visited, they only took one girl, so this has recently been great to increase the sport, where we now have two women going. To see it grow has been fantastic. Easy methods to an incredible experience. "
The moment she takes to the stand at the Olympic Shooting Centre, Rhode will end up only the second US athlete to appear at six Olympics. And should she make the scène in Brazil, she will equal Italian luger Armin Zöggeler’s record of medalling at six successive Games, while a next gold medal will make her the sole feminine shooter to achieve such a haul since the sport was first included on the programme at Los Angeles 1984.
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