Skeet and Double Trap Preview: First Leg of U.S. Olympic Shotgun Trials
OutdoorHub 09.29.11
Colorado Springs, Colo. – The action continues at the U.S. Olympic Trials for Shotgun in Kerrville, Texas. Double Trap and Skeet athletes are gearing up for their first shots at a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team. The excitement officially begins on Sept. 30. In Men’s Skeet, the competition will be fierce as the athletes compete for two spots on the U.S. Olympic Team. Jon Michael McGrath (Tulsa, Okla.) is the only American to earn an ISSF World Cup medal this year, but Frank Thompson (Alliance, Neb.) and 2008 Olympic gold medalist Vincent Hancock (Eatonton, Ga.) have put up competitive scores as well.
Since the USA Shooting Team has one quota in the Men’s Double Trap event, shooters in Kerrville will be competing for the alternate spot. National Team member Glenn Eller (Katy, Texas), the 2008 Men’s Double Trap Olympic gold medalist, is among the contenders. Eller, a Sergeant in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, was the recent bronze medalist at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Clay Target Championships. After that performance, Eller will certainly be an athlete to watch in the upcoming Trials. Also, be sure to follow Billy Crawford (Johnstown, Ohio) the junior gold medalist at the World Clay Target Championships; where he shot a new junior world record score of 148 out of 150 targets. Staff Sergeant Josh Richmond (Hillsgrove, Pa.), the Men’s Double Trap quota winner and Olympic nominee (pending approval by the U.S. Olympic Committee) will not be competing in this event as he prepares for his upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.
Like the Men’s Double Trap athletes, the U.S. Olympic Trials for Women’s Skeet will offer the opportunity to earn an alternate spot on the U.S. Olympic Team as Kim Rhode (El Monte, Calif.) has already secured the 2012 U.S. Olympic Nomination (pending approval by the U.S. Olympic Committee) and will not be present as she is competing in the ISSF World Cup Final. With only one quota available for each country in 2012, only one American female is slated to attend. Regardless, Olympic Training Center Resident Athletes Caitlin Connor (Winnfield, La.) and Jaiden Grinnell (Port Angeles, Wash.) are catching the eye of the skeet community. Both Connor and Grinnell won medals on the ISSF World Cup circuit this year and have delivered solid performances.
The final for Double Trap will take place on Oct. 1, while the finals for Men’s and Women’s Skeet will be on Oct. 2. To watch live scores, please navigate to the iClays website for Skeet or Double Trap. For more information, check out www.usashooting.org.
About USA Shooting:
USA Shooting, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, was chartered by the United States Olympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the sport of shooting in April 1995. USA Shooting’s mission is to prepare American athletes to win Olympic medals, promote the shooting sports throughout the U.S. and govern the conduct of international shooting in the country. Check us out on the web at www.usashooting.org and on Twitter at twitter.com/USAShooting.
