IN THE CROSSHAIRS U.S. TEAM FEATURES SHOOTERS RANGING IN AGE FROM 17 TO 52.Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer Some things are a given in Olympic competition. Female gymnasts are young and petite, basketball players are tall and swimmers are lean. When it comes to shooters, well, they're all over the place. The U.S. shooting team has the widest age range of any Olympic team with 17-year-old Collyn Loper lope intr.v. loped, lop·ing, lopes To run or ride with a steady, easy gait. n. A steady, easy gait. [Middle English lopen, to leap, from Old Norse on one end and 52-year-old Elizabeth Callahan on the other. ``Shooting for me is such an individual sport,'' said Callahan, who, in her third Olympics will be the oldest athlete in Athens. ``I think that is what enables me to compete for so long.'' Training procedures for shooters are just as varied. Some live at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, city (1990 pop. 281,140), seat of El Paso co., central Colo., on Monument and Fountain creeks, at the foot of Pikes Peak; inc. 1886. It is a year-round resort and a booming military, technological, and commercial city. , Colo. Some train with the military. Others don't even leave their homes. Koby Holland, who competes in the running target, used to live at the Olympic Training Center but now trains in his brother's basement. ``I have been focusing a lot on the mental aspect of the game,'' Holland said. ``There is only so much actual shooting training you can do, then the rest really comes down to who is the most focused in the match.'' Olympic shooting The term Olympic shooting can refer to any of the following:
The shotgun team leads the way with eight participants. However, the seven-person rifling team is causing the most excitement. ``It's the best shotgun team we've seen in years,'' USA shooting Prior to 1979, a year-round U.S. Shooting Team did not exist. Athletes trained independently and met once a year to try out for major events such as the Olympics and World Championships. Once the matches were over the team disbanded until the following year. spokeswoman Sara Greenlee said. ``It's a really strong group of competitors, with only two that haven't been to the Olympics before.'' The most capable of those competitors might well be Jason Parker Jason Parker is also the name of a fictional character in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Jason Parker (born June 27, 1974) is an American sport shooter, one of the world's leading 10 m Air Rifle shooters, although he has also had some successes in Three positions of Omaha, Neb. Despite being the world-record holder in men's air rifle, he missed a medal by just fractions of a point at the 2000 Sydney Games. ``That has been my motivation for the last four years,'' Parker said. ``That kind of disappointment just doesn't go away. ... I really don't want to go home empty-handed again.'' The U.S. shooting team used to dominate the Olympics in the 1960s and '70s but has slipped recently. In 2000, the U.S. won one gold medal gold medal traditional first prize. [Western Cult: Misc.] See : Prize . One of the team's greatest hopes is a Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, resident. Kim Rhode Kimberly "Kim" Susan Rhode (born July 16, 1979) is an American double trap and skeet shooter. A California native, she is a two-time Olympic gold medal winner and six-time national champion in double trap. She was the youngest member of the U.S. from El Monte won the gold medal in 1996 for the double trap event in shotgun and a bronze in 2000. She was recently named the female USA Shooting Athlete of the Year Athlete of the Year
Rhode is trying to win a medal in all three Olympics in which double trap has been an event. Double trap started in 1996 and is scheduled to be dropped after Athens. The winner of the women's air rifle will be Athens' first gold medalist. The event is Aug. 14, the first day of competition, and will conclude about eight hours before the next contest. Hattie Johnson won the event in Sydney for the United States' only shooting medal. Matthew Kredell, (818)713-3607 matthew.kredell(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Collyn Loper, 17, is the youngest member of the U.S. shooting team, which hopes to earn more medals in Athens after claiming only one bronze in 2000. Dave Martin/Associated Press Box: SHOOTING |
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