EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Olympic Shooter Kim Rhode Sets Record, Looks Forward To Future Olympics

by UInterviewAugust 1, 2012, 12:00 amNews >

U.S. Olympic contestants are setting records right and left, and while nothing compares to the historic “greatest Olympian of all time” honor bestowed upon Michael Phelps yesterday when he accepted medal No. 19 for his 4×200 relay, shooter Kim Rhode, 33, didn’t fare too badly a couple days before when she became the first American in the Olympics to win five straight individual medals in Olympic events.

It was all due to her skeet-shooting performance on Sunday, when Rhode tied a world record with 99 points, or 99 skeet shot out of 100 thrown. The silver medal went to Wei Ning of China, who only hit 91 targets, and Danka Bartekova of Slovakia wound up with the bronze at 90 shots.

And the highly decorated Rhode isn’t about to stop at five — she’s looking ahead to a long Olympic shooting career. “In shooting we tend to have a longer longevity than, say, a gymnast, so it’s something that we can do for a long period of time,” Rhode told Uinterview exclusively. “The oldest medalist in the history of the Olympics was a shooter — he was 72. So I hopefully have a few more Olympics under my belt,” she joked. “I like to think I’m still young.”

Rhodes doesn’t mess around when she gets out there to practice, and she’s gotten used to braving the elements and the repetition that others might find tedious. “Going out there doing it 500-1000 times a day, nothing different, being able to take in the conditions — the rain, wind — those are all major things that play into our sport,” Rhode told us. “Kinda like golf, but at the same time, we have to hit a little clay disc about the size of our fist that’s flying at about 60-70 miles per hour.”

For more on the 2012 London Olympics:

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Olympic Diver Cassidy Krug Describes The Perfect Dive

EXCLUSIVE: Veteran U.S. Olympic Triathlete Hunter Kemper On Being ‘Persistent’

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Olympic Volleyball Player Lindsey Berg Is ‘Honored’ To Be Named Captain

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Olympian Nick McCrory Talks Diving With David Boudia

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Olympic Diver Kristian Ipsen Is ‘Not Wearing Much’

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Olympian Phil Dalhausser’s ‘Late Start’ At Beach Volleyball

EXCLUSIVE: Olympian Jessica Hardy Swims 2.5 Hours Every Morning

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Olympic Gymnast Jonathan Horton On The London Games

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Olympic Gymnast Jordyn Wieber On Trainin For London Games

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Olympic Sprinter Wallace Spearmon On Losing His Medal In Beijing — And Winning Gold In London

Lolo Jones Reveals She’s A Virgin