Obvious Bonus: She’s pro-Second Amendment.
From USA Today: Make it six straight for Kim Rhode. The 37-year-old American won a medal for her sixth consecutive Olympics on Friday, capturing bronze in the skeet shooting event at the Olympic Shooting Center.
It’s a stunning accomplishment from Rhode, who becomes the first female Olympian to medal in six consecutive games, and the first summer Olympian as well. Only Italian luger Armin Zoeggeler has done it on the men’s side.
Rhode’s bronze medal match ended in a shoot-off, after both she and China’s Meng Wei hit 15 of 16 clays. Rhode missed a clay in her first round of the shoot-off, but Meng followed by missing one of her own. Three rounds later, Meng missed her final clay to hand the bronze to Rhode.
Rhode lifted her arm to the sky when she realized she’d done it. She then walked over to the stands, where her husband handed her their 3-year-old son for a long hug. “Being a mom, having a son here, it’s amazing,” she said. “I hope that he remembers this. We’ve taken tons of pictures trying to capture the moment.”
Afterward, she said history was on her mind as she was shooting. “Most definitely,” she said. “When you’re in that bronze medal match, and you know you can walk away going for Olympic history or [nothing], yes, that was definitely on my mind.”
The crowd rose to give Rhode a standing ovation after the announcer told them history had just been made. Italians Chiara Cainero and Diana Bacosi won silver and gold, respectively.
Rhode’s Olympic history has been nothing short of dominant. She won gold in the 1996 Games in double trap at the age of 17, then followed up with bronze in Sydney, gold in Athens, silver in Beijing, and then gold in London. “Standing up there on the podium, it’s addicting,” Rhode said. “It keeps me coming back for more.” IOC president Thomas Bach was in the crowd for the event, catching a seat for history.
American Morgan Craft, 23, also competed in the event, but was eliminated in a semifinal shoot-off. Craft said after the final that she respected Rhode’s longevity, but doesn’t see herself competing in that many Olympics – her dream is to become a physician’s assistant.
Rhode has become an outspoken defendant of the second amendment in the United States. In a news conference before the start of the Games, Rhode spoke out about what it meant to her.
“We should have the right to keep and bear arms, to protect ourselves and our family,” she said. “The second amendment was put in there not just so we can go shoot skeet or go shoot trap. It was put in so we could defend our first amendment, the freedom of speech, and also to defend ourselves against our own government.”
DCG
