SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic --.Kimberly Rhode (El Monte, Calif.) won a gold medal in the Women’s Double Trap competition Tuesday, marking the U.S. Shotgun Team’s third gold medal in the last three events 2003 Pan American Games.
Rhode, an Olympic gold medalist in 1996 and Olympic bronze medalist in 2000, was an obvious favorite in double trap. The 24-year-old never trailed, hitting 39 out of 40 targets in the first round, and maintaining a wide enough margin in the next three rounds to eventually bring home the gold.
“When you are on the line, you compete with yourself,” Rhode explains. “You want to beat your previous scores. You want to always improve. I didn’t really do that today, but competition is competition. It is also a great experience to have going into 2004.”
Canadians Cynthia Meyer and Susan Nattrass flanked Rhode on the medal podium. Meyer grabbed the silver medal with a total score of 133, while Nattrass rounded out the top-three with a 114.
Up next for the U.S. Shotgun Team is the Men’s Double Trap competition Wednesday at 9 a.m. with the finals and awards to follow.
Women’s Double Trap
FINAL RESUTS
Name____
Rnd 1_ Rnd 2__ Rnd 3_ Finals__ Total__
1. Kim Rhode (USA) 39 32 38 31 140
2. Cyntia Meyer (CAN) 31 35 33 34 133
3. Susan Nattrass (CAN) 31 28 28 27 114
4. Vivian Rodriguez (PUR) 27 26 18 15 86
5. Janice Teixeira (BRA) 23 19 19 17 78
.42638.0