COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (May 7, 2019)
More than 360 athletes from 58 nations have made their way once again to Changwon, South Korea to compete in the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup that begins Thursday. Twelve USA Shooting Team athletes are among them including Olympic gold medalists Kim Rhode, Vincent Hancock and Glenn Eller.
The U.S. is still searching for three all-important Olympic quotas with one qualification spot still left to obtain in Women’s Trap and two in Men’s Trap. Both quotas in Men’s and Women’s Skeet have been secured.
You’ll for sure want to tune in Friday, May 10 as the six-time Olympic medalist Rhode (El Monte, California) stands on the precipice of history yet again. If she wins this World Cup, that would make four straight World Cup victories, a feat no other female in the history of the sport has accomplished and she would also be the first shotgun competitor (male or female) to do so as well. Since a record sixth straight Olympic medal in Rio, all she’s done is earn 11 international medals since, including nine gold.
She’s proven she knows how to win on this range as well having won a World Cup here last year while also finishing runner-up here at last year’s World Championships to her teammate Caitlin Connor. She’ll face tough competition as always and that includes from her own teammates as reigning two-time National Champion Dania Vizzi (Odessa, Florida) and 2017 World Champion is competing as is two-time Junior World Championships medalist Austen Smith (Keller, Texas).
Based on proven results lately, if Vincent Hancock (Eatonton, Georgia) is attending a World Cup, he’s the definitive favorite to win. It’s been that way
