When it comes to competitive shooting, many of us think of the USA as having pretty good chances in all events. And while we have done okay in the past, the USA hasn't even always qualified to shoot! We can thank Keith Sanderson for our chance at a 2008 Olympic Rapid-Fire Pistol medal, our first shot since 1996.
The shooters listed below are necessarily very good, or they would never have made it into the Olympics.
11. Emily Caruso - Women's Air Rifle
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Emily Caruso has won national championships with her air rifle multiple times, and after a weak start she took first place at the 2008 Olympic shooting trials...
12. Sandra Fong - Women's Rifle
Photo courtesy of United States Olympic Committee
Teen Sandra Fong began competing in swimming and later moved on to the rifle range, where she really excelled. At the 2008 tryouts, she edged out her own sister (Abigail) and placed second. Her sister Danielle will also compete in Beijing 2008, and the Paralympic Games...
13. Vincent Hancock - Men's Shotgun (Skeet)
Photo courtesy of United States Olympic Committee
Young Vincent Hancock, born in 1989, was a world champion in skeet by age 16. This teenage world record holder expects to win in the 2008 Olympics, and it looks like his chances ain't bad at all...
14. Bret Erickson - Men's Shotgun (Trap)
Photo Courtesy of U.S. Army
Bret Erickson is one of the oldest shotgunners to represent the USA at the 2008 Olympics, and he has earned his chance to be there in 1992, 1996, 2004, and 2008. 2008 may be Bret's last Olympic go-round, and his decades of shotgun experience may be just what he needs...
15. Walton Glenn Eller III - Men's Shotgun (Double Trap)
Photo Courtesy of U.S. Army
Glenn Eller has been winning big since age 12, and his 2000 and 2004 Olympic experiences, together with a couple years with the USAMU, may be just what he needs to make it big in Beijing, after he neatly secured first place at the Olympic Double Trap shooting trials...
16. Jeffrey "Jeff" Holguin - Men's Shotgun (Double Trap)
Photo Courtesy of U.S. Marine Corps
Jeff Holguin joined the US Army's USAMU along with Glenn Eller in 2006, and that seems to have been just what he needed. He placed second at the 2008 Olympic trials for Double Trap...
17. Kimberly "Kim" Rhode - Women's Shotgun (Skeet)
Photo by Rick Stewart /Allsport
Kim Rhode's Olympic experience is legendary, beginning in 1996 when she became the youngest-ever female Olympic Gold medal winner in shooting. She also earned medals in 2000 and 2004, and she aims to do the same in 2008...
18. Corey Cogdell - Women's Shotgun (Trap)
Photo courtesy of United States Olympic Committee
Alaska native Corey Cogdell really got off to a fast start. She started serious trap shooting competition in 2006, and two years later she took the top spot at the 2008 Olympic trials for Women's Trap...
