Rhode Wins Gold, Clinches First Medal for 2004 Olympic Shoot

[USA Shooting]

ATHENS – Three-time Olympian Kim Rhode (El Monte, Calif.) can now be referred to as a legend in women’s double trap. Women’s double trap has only appeared in three Olympic Games and today Rhode sealed yet another victory in this short-lived Olympic event, winning an Olympic gold medal, the first for the U.S. Shooting Team since the Athens Games started.

“I don’t think it has hit me yet,” Rhode says. “I mean I still can’t believe I won. It is a little overwhelming.

“The fact that this is my last Olympics shooting double trap brings out mixed feelings. It is sad because I look back at these eight years with tons of memories, but it is also a start of a new era. A new event brings on a new challenge.”

Rhode’s first games were in 1996 and even then, as a 17-year-old unknown, Rhode was a force to be reckoned with. She walked in and took the gold. In 2000, at 21, Rhode was back for more. She shot well, but walked away with the bronze.

And today, at the Markopoulo Range in Athens, Greece, Rhode came into this event trying to shake off the disappointments of her team members and ended up tying the final Olympic record by hitting 148 out of 160 total targets.

Rhode goes on to shoot in women’s skeet tomorrow, an event that she used to shoot all the time, but hasn’t practiced in over a year. Rhode hopes to qualify in both skeet and trap in 2008. But says she will just have to see how it goes until then. Two-time Olympian Connie Smotek (Lyons, Texas) will join Rhode on the ranges tomorrow. Smotek shot in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.

In other Olympic shooting action, three-time Olympian’s Beki Snyder (Grand Junction, Colo.) and 52-year-old Libby Callahan (Upper Marlboro, Md.) both wrapped up their second event today, shooting 25m sport pistol. Snyder started out strong, tied for fifth after her precision round. However, after a shaky rapid fire stage, she fell to an overall 21st place finish . Callahan, a Staff Sgt. in the Army Reserve, came in 19th.

In the first qualifying round of men’s running target, Adam Saathoff (Hereford, Ariz.) jumped out strong in the slow runs. Saathoff, an Olympian from 1996 and 2000, is tied for second place with a 294 heading into the last day of competition. His teammate Koby Holland (Dillon, Mont.) is currently in 18th. Men’s running target is also being eliminated from the Olympic lineup after 2004.

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