COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.-USA Shooting officially announced today that Kimberly Rhode (El Monte, Calif.) and Walton Glenn Eller III (Houston,
Texas) are USA Shooting Athlete's of the Year.
Rhode, a double trap two-time Olympic medalist, blew her national competition away, going undefeated in every 2003 national event. She also added a win at the Perth World Cup, a silver at Grenada's World Cup, a bronze at the World Cup finals and a fourth-place finish at World Championships.
Eller, a 2000 Olympian in double trap, had a fantastic 2003 season, as well, winning a gold at the World Championships and a gold at the Grenada World Cup. Eller clinched the honor of Athlete of the Year, which is determined by assigning points to a shooter's finish in each event, over Jason Parker
(AMU- Fort Benning, Ga.) by a fairly slim margin. Parker, also a 2000 Olympian, grabbed a gold at Munich's World Cup, while also setting a World Record score.
USA Shooting changed the procedure for picking the Athlete of the Year, just last year, making it much more objective. Director of Operations, Wanda Jewell, the person to implement the new procedure at USA Shooting, says it just seems better this way. "It is more objective than subjective," Jewell said. "We don't have to worry about missing anyone that might have a chance."
This system also chooses the Discipline Athletes of the Year, naming the top shooters of each respective discipline at the same time. And while Eller and Rhode are on the top of shotgun, Daryl Szarenski (AMU- Seale, Ala.) and Elizabeth Callahan (Upper Marlboro, Md.) lead the pistol shooters, Parker and Jamie Beyerle (Lebanon, Pa.) clinch rifle, and Armando Ayala (AMU- Fort Benning, Ga.) takes running target.
For more information, please contact USA Shooting's media director, Sara Greenlee, at 719-866-4896, or by email at sara.greenlee@usashooting.org.
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