Rio in Sight
TM
By: Kevin Neuendorf Director of Media and Public Relations
One Year Before USA Shooting Team Writes Next Great Olympic Chapter in Rio
The stage is set for the
next great Olympic chapter in USA Shooting’s proud his- tory as the athletes, staff, members, sponsors and fans of the sport welcomed the one-year countdown to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Just under a year away, 10,000-plus athletes will
ing Team has earned 20 of the possible 30 quotas (two per 15 Olympic events) avail- able in the three disciplines, having solidifi ed both quo- tas in Prone Rifl e, Men’s Air Rifl e, Men’s Rapid Fire Pis- tol, Men’s Double Trap and Men’s & Women’s Skeet. Though the quota numbers for Rifl e and Pistol events
can win only one quota for his/her country — regard- less of the discipline. When an athlete wins an Olympic quota, it does not guarantee him/her a slot on the Olym- pic Team.
Olympic Team
slots will be determined through a separate selection procedure.
en’s Sport Pistol, as well as Men’s and Women’s Three- Position Rifl e) will earn their way at one event in April. The USA Shooting Team
is determined to maintain its history of success, with a past that includes 107 medals, including four in the most recent Olympic Games in London. Three of them are among the talent- ed crop of team members once again vying for a spot on Team USA.
Vincent Hancock (center) became the fi rst USA Shooting Team member to secure an Olympic Team nomination via points following his gold-medal win in Azerbaijan.
All photos by: ISSF
gather once again for the world’s greatest sporting spectacle. Between now and then, there is plenty to decide, but for now there’s something particularly grati- fying in knowing that Rio is in Sight and four years of exhaustive work and prepa- ration is boiled down into days . On the to-do list before
them for USA Shooting Team athletes will be earning more Olympic quotas and securing individual team ap- pointments. The USA Shoot-
are now set, the U.S. is still hunting for an additional quota in Women’s Trap. The U.S. has yet to earn any quo- tas in Men’s Trap. Shotgun athletes still have an addi- tional opportunity to earn quotas at September’s Shot- gun World Championship in Lonato, Italy. A quota spot is essentially the entry ticket necessary for a country to compete in Olympic compe- tition in a particular disci- pline. A country is allowed to earn up to two quotas in each event, and an athlete
44 USA Shooting News | September 2015 Individual selection for
Olympic candidacy gets underway beginning in Oc- tober with Shotgun’s Fall Selection Match in Tucson, Arizona, followed by the fi rst half of Airgun (Air Rifl e and Air Pistol) selection in De- cember at the Winter Airgun Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Shotgun and Airgun disciplines will determine Olympic selec- tion based off a cumulative total of two separate events while Smallbore (Men’s Rapid Fire, Free and Wom-
In a sport where athletes distinguish themselves by the slimmest of margins, athletes such as Kim Rhode (El Monte, California), Matt Emmons (Browns Mills, New Jersey) and Vincent Han- cock (Eatonton, Georgia) should not go unnoticed. These shooting perfection- ists have scaled new heights with their dominating per- formances. Their history- making accomplishments are a testament to the will, resolve and dedication they each have for their craft. Domination and the pur- suit of perfection haven’t become a once-in-a-while
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68