Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – Collyn Loper (Indian Springs, Ala.) has yet to graduate high school, but the 16-year-old from Alabama has already graduated into the elite ranks of trap shooting. Monday afternoon Loper won the women’s trap event at the 14th Pan American Games in Santo Domingo.
Loper not only won the event, she showed maturity beyond her years as she had to deal with delays in the first two rounds when Canada’s Susan Nattrass’ gun malfunctioned on several occasions.
“That can throw off everyone’s rhythm,” said U.S. National Shotgun Coach Lloyd Woodhouse.
The delays didn’t seem to bother Loper, however, as she was able to hit her first target out following each stoppage of the competition.
“Instead of going back and sitting with everyone else I went and sat of to the side by myself,” Loper explained when asked how she dealt with the interruptions. “I just tried to not pay attention to it.”
Loper went into the final round with a four-point lead, although she wasn’t aware of it. “I never like to know what my scores are until I am finished,” she said. “I kind of assumed that I was ahead by three or four. When I heard people clapping (after hitting a target near the end of the finals) I thought, ‘Maybe I just won.’”
The applause she heard came from her teammates who were anxiously watching the tally board and realized that Loper had secured the gold with two shots still remaining. At the conclusion of the event her coach and teammates rushed to congratulate her, just before she called back home to the U.S. to share the news with her family.
Up next for the U.S. in shooting is Women’s Double Trap, which is slated to begin at 9:00am at the Higuero Shooting Range in Santo Domingo.
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Women’s Trap
Higuero Shooting Range
FINAL RESULTS
Qualification Rounds
Name 1 2 3 Total Final Total
1 Collyn Loper (USA) 23 22 22 67 20 87
2 Cynthia Meyer (CAN) 19 23 21 63 21 84
3 Janice Teixeira (BRA) 20 20 20 60 22 82
4 Susan Nattrass (CAN) 20 22 21 63 16 79
5 Vivian Rodriguez (PUR) 20 18 19 57 17 74
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Ryan John – USOC Press Officer
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