12 for ’12 U.S. Olympic Committee Media Teleconference Series to Feature Four-time Olympic Medalist Kim Rhode
OutdoorHub 03.09.12
The U.S. Olympic Committee’s 12 for ’12 media teleconference series will continue on Monday (March 12) with a pair of two-time Olympic champions – shooter Kim Rhode (El Monte, Calif.) and taekwondo athlete Steven Lopez(Sugar Land, Texas) – at 10 a.m. Mountain Time.
Four-time Olympic medalist Rhode is chasing history after being the first athlete nominated to the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team. If she wins a medal in London, she will become the first American from an individual sport to win medals at five consecutive Olympic Games. Originally a double trap shooter, Rhode proved her versatility as she switched to skeet when double trap was removed as a women’s event after the 2004 Games. Rhode went on to win the silver medal in skeet in 2008 in Beijing. With eight international medals (five golds, two silvers and one bronze) in the past two years, Rhode is the No. 1-ranked women’s skeet shooter in the world and a clear candidate for the top of the podium in London.
Meanwhile, three-time Olympian Lopez is part of the “first family of taekwondo.” With the eldest brother, Jean, as coach, all three younger siblings – Steven, Diana and Mark – made history by medaling at the 2008 Olympic Games. There, Lopez earned the bronze medal after having captured gold in both 2000 and 2004. Since Beijing, Lopez further cemented his legacy as the best in the sport when he won his fifth consecutive world championship title (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009), becoming the first to achieve that feat. On Saturday (March 10), Lopez will compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials for Taekwondo as the No. 1 seed in the men’s -80kg division in a bid to qualify for his fourth U.S. Olympic Team.
The 12 for ’12 media teleconference series provides media with an opportunity to interact with top Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls at critical moments in their journey to represent Team USA in London. The teleconferences run monthly through July 12, 2012, and will take place on or around the 12th of each month.
