COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (April 14, 2019)
The strength of the U.S. Women’s Skeet program was once again on display as all three American women qualified for the Finals today at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. Today, however, it was six-time Olympic medalist Kim Rhode who came out on top with her second gold medal in as many World Cups in the 2019 season.
Reigning World Champion Caitlin Connor (Winnfield, Louisiana) entered the Final with the top Qualification score of 120/125 targets, but Rhode (El Monte, California) and World Championship bronze medalist Amber English (Colorado Springs, Colorado/U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit) had to battle three other athletes with a Qualification score of 118 in a shootoff to earn one of the five remaining spots in the Final. English qualified for the Final in fourth and Rhode in the last and sixth position.
“The Final was tough due to the combination of shadows and windy conditions which I think contributed to slightly lower scores,” said Rhode, who was perfect through her first 22 targets. “But in the Final, there was a lot of talent which definitely didn’t help to calm the nerves between the athletes. I’ve had an amazing couple of years after the last Olympic Games and hope to continue making Finals and winning leading up to 2020! I never gave up, drew on my experience over the last 20 plus years, and that definitely helped me as I battled from sixth to first.”
Rhode and Francisca Corvetto Chadid of Chile battled to the end of the 60-target Final until Rhode bested Chadid by one target (53 to 52 targets) to claim the 20th World Cup gold medal of her career. Andri Eleftheriou of Cyprus won the bronze. Connor was eliminated in fourth place and English in sixth place. Women’s Skeet results: https://bit.ly/2Xb0yFi.
The Men’s Skeet competitors also shot their first 50 targets of competition today. Josh Raley (Gretna, Louisiana) hit 48, Phillip Jungman (Caldwell, Texas/USAMU) hit 47 and Hayden Stewart (Columbia, Tennessee/USAMU) hit 46. Men’s Skeet results: https://bit.ly/2UXAksj.
Competition wraps tomorrow at the World Cup in Al Ain with 75 more Qualification targets and Finals in Men’s Skeet. More than 430 athletes from 71 countries are competing at this World Cup. A complete schedule of events and scores can be found here: https://bit.ly/2G2yKNG.