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USAMU Olympic Team Members, Libby Callahan to make an appearance on NBC’s “Today” on Wednesday, June 18



COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 17, 2008) - U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) 2008 Olympic Team members as well as U.S. Army Reservist Libby Callahan, who is also a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, will be making a brief appearance on NBC’s morning news program “Today” with Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira on Wednesday, June 18. The segment is expected to air at approximately 8:04 a.m. “Today” runs from 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Monday through Friday on NBC.



The USAMU athletes who will be appearing on “Today” include: Michael Anti (Winterville, N.C.), the 2004 Olympic silver medalist in Men’s 3 Position Rifle, who secured a spot on his fourth Olympic team, this time in Men’s Prone Rifle. Two-time Olympian Jason Parker (Omaha, Neb.), earned two spots on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team in Men’s 10m Air Rifle as well as Men’s 3 Position Rifle. Glenn Eller (Katy, Texas) secured his third consecutive Olympic team berth in Men’s Double Trap, along with his Double Trap teammate Jeff Holguin (Yorba Linda, Calif.), who earned his first spot on the U.S. Olympic Team. Nineteen-year-old Vincent Hancock (Eatonton, Ga.), a World Champion and world record holder, will be representing the U.S. on his first Olympic team in the Men’s Skeet event. Daryl Szarenski (Saginaw, Mich.), a two-time Olympian, will represent the U.S. in Men’s Free Pistol.



U.S. Army Reservist Libby Callahan (Columbia, S.C.), 56, is the eldest member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Shooting team and also the oldest known American woman overall to compete in the Olympic Games. Equestrian Kyra Dowton previously held the record at age 55. Dowton competed in the 1968 Olympic Games held in Mexico City. Callahan will be competing in the Women’s Sport Pistol event in Beijing.



For more information on these athletes, please visit www.usashooting.org. For more information on NBC’s “Today,” please visit www.nbc.com/today.





Mary Beth Vorwerk

Manager, Media and Public Relations

USA Shooting

1 Olympic Plaza

Colorado Springs, CO 80909

719.866.4896 (phone)

719.866.4884 (fax)

www.usashooting.org

Did anyone see this on TV? How did it turn out? My guess is that they were in a background shot somewhere for 1 or 2 seconds.

They had all the shooters introduce themselves and their type of shooting . Then asked Anti if he was going to trade his silver Corvette for a gold one if he won a gold medal. Also asked Libby about being the oldest olympic athlete going to China.

Took about 1 min. of NBC's time.

Based on the (obvious and recently admitted) "Leftist Slant" of NBC and MSNBC, the first question I would have is what was the overall advocacy position of the piece?

Was it a (rare) straight-up news piece? A sports piece as part of their overall olympic coverage? A human interest story on Libby? Was it followed by commentary on gun crime?

I would be pleasantly surprised if the piece did not take at least a subtle swipe at "Bad Guns."

Here is the link to the videohttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp ... 1#25239601

It was one minute, 40 seconds and was more of a show of the olympians who are also members of the armed forces. One guy was a boxer, one guy was a "race walker". They highlighted Libby's age and how proud she was to represent the Army Reserves and the country as the oldest olympian at 56.

Well, most of the line at my last match was whipped by a 60 year old woman, so the age thing is lost on me...nor that she is a woman.

It was good to see the AMU guys there and all of the folks from the armed forces, but it was more of a "wow soccer moms, something different to look at for 1:40 other than your normal drudgery".

I wish Fox News would do a story on olympic shooting...I'd love to see Gretchen Carlson cover that story (or any story for that matter).

The above press release from USA shooting was of course, far more informative than the lame filler presented by the Today Show. Surprisingly great to see US shooters (& Army Olympic Athletes) represented on any network show.

Libby is very accomodating by ALWAYS having to talk about her age....which has nothing to do with her ability as an athlete or as a women shooter for that matter.

However, Libby and all the guys were looking good and standing tall. The bit was limited in 'scope' but my favorite was Daryl Szarenski representing Free Pistol - who showed his confidence and experience by strongly projecting his voice while introducing himself - quickly followed by politely acknowledging and conceding to Hancock - the next in line.

Any representation of World Class Athlete Servicemembers albeit somewhat overlooked and under-appreciated, is better than nothing. I imagine the whole bit was more of a recruiting opportunity to coincide with the 'Olympian Fitness Challenge" at the Times Square Recruiting station. The world class athlete program is outstanding for those gifted athletes who proudly serve. Nothing was discussed about that in the bit. A seemingly missed opportunity. The prospect of a silver Corvette must work better for recruiting world-class shooters.....then, say...."a 10 meter air trailer where NYC residents could walk up and compete head-head with the Olympic shooters . . ."

Good Luck to ALL USA Olympic Team Members - Especially USA Shooters!

Beth Wallace
Arizona