2016 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Olympic and Paralympic Games
Still basking in the glow of 2012, we forecast what lies ahead for the USA Shooting Team with Rio 2016 looming in the distance.
The gleam of four medals and 22 proud Olympic and Paralympic representatives of the shooting sports thankfully still lingers throughout the USA Shooting community as we look ahead to 2013 and beyond. The trek to Rio 2016 may seem lengthy, but in reality, building upon the success of the past two Games is well underway. Robust changes in the rules
governing the sport will bring a level of anxiety and uncertainty as the next quad gets underway. After 26 years of essentially the same rules and finals format, The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) hopes that the forthcoming changes will make the sport more dynamic, attract more fans and provide a greater level of excite- ment for all involved.
Adaptation of those changes
will take time and will ulti- mately affect all aspects of our organization including athletes, coaches and officials. The year ahead will be one of extreme adjustment as we sift through the changes and apply them to our events, competitions, selec- tion procedures and gear them toward our ultimate goal of preparing American athletes to win Olympic and Para- lympic medals. Less unknown is
the depth of talent within USA Shooting’s current athlete pipe- line. In a sport less known for retirement and attrition, there’s a surplus of shooting riches to be had over the next four years. Very few if any members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic and
66 USA Shooting News | Year in Review 2012
Paralympic Teams have said they’ve fired their last competi- tive rounds. What effects will a new finals format have on America’s top shooters today and who stands in the shadows with the potential to use that new system to their advantage? Demonstrating the fear- lessness of youth and inexperience Amanda Furrer, Nick Mowrer, Sarah Scherer and Frank Thompson showcased the progression of young USA Shooting Team
members poised for continued breakthrough success the next four years. Many Junior Olympic and Development Team shoot- ers are lined up to pose a chal- lenge in the years to come. More changes are coming with respect to coaching and
development as USA Shooting implements more camps and opportunities for developing shooters early in the quad. Expanding the network of coach input, instruction and evalua- tion in all three shooting disci- plines, building greater depth in our Paralympic program, along with the addition of Dave John- son as Operations Director, USA Shooting will certainly provide more shooting opportunities for all levels of shooters. With too many variables to
predict where we might be four years from now, we view 2013 as the year of great transi- tion adjusting to new rules. A domestic rifle/pistol World Cup awaits in Fort Benning and we’ll lay the groundwork necessary for repeating Olympic and Para- lympic success four years from now in Rio de Janeiro.