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As she stood on the podium at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, a gold medal around her neck, 17-year-old Kim Rhode never dreamed that 16 years later, she’d be chasing history across the Atlantic Ocean in London.
When the opening ceremonies are over at the upcoming summer Olympics in London, that’s exactly what she’ll be doing.
Few Olympic champions have maintained a level of excellence like Rhode. She has dominated her sport for nearly two decades. If she medals at the 2012 Olympics, she’ll become the first athlete in history to medal in an individual sport in five consecutive Olympic Games.
By collecting two gold medals, a silver and a bronze in four Olympic appearances, Rhode has cemented herself as one of the best competitive shotgun shooters in the world. Rhode practices relentlessly and uses incredible hand/eye coordination, physical and mental endurance and Winchester® AA® ammunition to break flying clay targets, time after time.
In the world of competitive shooting, she’s at the top of a sport where the playing field is even for men and women.
“Like all Olympic sports, men and women compete separately, but competitive shooting is unique because men have no physical advantage over women. We can hold our own with the men,” says Rhode, now 33.
As a professional shotgun shooter, Rhode is proof that you can’t judge a book by its cover. After all, how did an average, American girl become a professional, at of all things, shotgun shooting?
“Too many misconceptions exist about guns and shooting. I grew up using guns and Winchester Ammunition because I’ve been hunting with my dad since I was a little girl,” says Rhode. “Shooting became my passion and look where it’s taken me – I’ve traveled the world and I’m going to my fifth Olympics because I love to shoot.”
Rhode shoots as many as 500 to 1000 Winchester AA shotgun shells per day and has continued a dedicated practice routine for 23 years. Rhode estimates she’s fired as many as two million Winchester AA shotshells in her life – a staggering number that requires support from corporate sponsors.
As the official ammunition of the USA Shooting Shotgun team and a personal sponsor of Rhode, Winchester Ammunition makes sure that Rhode can continue her high-octane practice routine by providing her and her USA Shooting teammates with the company’s popular Winchester® AA® ammunition. Winchester has been a sponsor of USA Shooting since 1999.
“We’re so proud of Kim for her accomplishments as a competitive shooter and we’re committed to supporting the USA Shooting Shotgun team,” said Brett Flaugher, Winchester Ammunition vice president of marketing and sales. “We’re excited about watching Kim attempt to make history in London, and since she shoots Winchester Ammunition, if she wins, so does Winchester.”
With a company heritage dating back to 1866, Winchester Ammunition was there for the taming of the American West, the Allied Forces’ victory in World War II and through the years, millions of fond memories made in the great outdoors. Known as The American Legend™, Winchester is a global leader in sporting, law enforcement, military and personal defense ammunition production. Winchester continues to raise the bar with innovative products like Blind Side® waterfowl and PDX1® Defender™ personal defense ammunition.
To learn more about Winchester Ammunition and the company’s support of the USA Shooting team, visit www.Winchester.com, or connect with The American Legend on Facebook at Facebook.com/WinchesterOfficial.