You Yanks know you have an Olympian who has won medals at six consecutive Games?

A lot of Americans shoot guns where I am from. If you want to take a sport out for participation, it would be gymnastics.

Anyone who says shooting isn't a sport is kidding themselves, and probably have never done it. Our shooting team trains 8 miles a week and lifts. Probably more running than our sprinters and look like they are in better shape than half our throwers.

Men should be able to beat women. If a girl beat all the guys, then the guys such.

Dressage is a sport, too. The horses should get the medals though.

I'd rather take synchro swimming out the olympics. Put in women's 50k race walk.

Did she look relaxed?

BackBaby wrote:

Did she look relaxed?

And in trainers...

Trackwatch wrote:

BEST IDEA YET wrote:

BINGO !

yes!

Add javelin to the mix and you have a rock/paper/scissors type masterpiece...

She's a Trump Fangirl wrote:

"Conservatives say there’s a reason for that: She’s pro-Second Amendment. Not only that, she supports Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/17/kim-rhode-and-guns-fans-blame-skimpy-coverage-shoo/

Well, I'm on the other side politically, but I really do not care what her politics are or who she supports for president. She's an American and an elite performer: I applaud her many accomplishments. Politics should play no role in our simple appreciation of her mastery of her chosen field.

To what degree this is a sport is another valid discussion. It obviously isn't as physically demanding as the major sports, including T&F. But she isn't racing LaShawn Merritt. I'm happy to consider her within her own zone.

really wrote:

HRH wrote:

As for ‘why do females have separate divisions to men’?

They all shot together once, but when a certain Zhang Shan, a Chinese female won the gold at Barcelona - the governing bodies didn’t like a woman beating every man in the world, and so they stopped letting women enter the men’s events and created a separate women’s event instead.

They also made the rules different for the two events so that it would be impossible to compare the men’s scores to the women’s scores.

Shirley, you can't be serious?! Can you provide a link?

I came across Kimberly in Taki’s magazine.

“Zhang Shan of China. Shan is the woman who stunned the shooting world in 1992 when she won gold at Barcelona in skeet. The governing bodies didn’t like a woman beating every man in the world, and so they stopped letting women enter the men’s events and created a separate women’s event instead. They also made the rules different for the two events so that it would be impossible to compare the men’s scores to the women’s scores. (Up until 1984, women hadn’t been allowed to compete at all, and before 1992, the only women’s shooting events were three-position rifle, air rifle, and sport pistol—essentially the events that children train in.”

HRH wrote:

I came across Kimberly in Taki’s magazine.

“The governing bodies didn’t like a woman beating every man in the world, and so they stopped letting women enter the men’s events and created a separate women’s event instead. They also made the rules different for the two events so that it would be impossible to compare the men’s scores to the women’s scores. ..."

Apparently, it's not a real sport if the best woman can be as good as the best man.

The Soviets were reputed to have had some pretty good female snipers during WW2.

"Yanks"??? Is my grandfather posting on LR now?

The decision to drop women from the competition wasn't due to Zhang Shan winning in 1992. We know this because the decision was made before she won.

Here's the LA Times report on her 1992 victory:

Zhang Shan of China won the gold medal Tuesday in skeet shooting, becoming the first woman to win top honors in open Olympic shooting competition. And unless the International Shooting Union has a change of heart, no other woman will win another Olympic skeet shooting medal because the federation has decided to drop women from competition after this year.

Zhang, 24, a student living in Sichuan, shot a perfect score through the semifinals, breaking 200 targets for an Olympic record and tying the world mark. She broke 23 of 25 targets in the final round for a 223 total score.

"As a woman shooter, to get first place means greater courage for women of China," Zhang said.

In 1976, Americans Margaret Murdock and Lanny Bassham tied for the gold medal in small-bore rifle--three positions, but Bassham was awarded the medal in a tiebreaker ruling.

Matt Dryke of Sumner, Wash., who won the gold medal in skeet in 1984, was tied for second after six rounds but finished sixth. He scored 221 after hitting 198 of 200 and 23 of 25. Dryke returned to competition in 1991 after serving a two-year suspension for testing positive for cocaine.

Juan Jorge Giha Yarur of Peru won the silver in a shoot-off with Bruno Rossetti of Italy and Ioan Toman of Romania. Rossetti took the bronze. All three tied at 222.

Zhang's victory spawned speculation that the shooting union might reconsider its recent decision to eliminate women from Olympic skeet.

"I hope this influences the (union) to take a second look at its decision," said Lloyd Woodhouse, U.S. shotgun coach. "This might change their mind. Why can't women shoot in the open class?"

China also won the gold medal in the men's air pistol, Wang Yifu winning with a 684.8 score.

This poster has it about right: there's a difference between a skill and a sport. Video games require skill, but they aren't in the Olys, at least not yet.

But damn, that's a human interest story that NBC really needs to fully exploit: American woman overcomes gall bladder problem to win Oly medal. I can't shoot worth a damn when my gall bladder goes bad.

Sara Palin wrote:

A lot of Americans shoot guns where I am from. If you want to take a sport out for participation, it would be gymnastics.

Anyone who says shooting isn't a sport is kidding themselves, and probably have never done it. Our shooting team trains 8 miles a week and lifts. Probably more running than our sprinters and look like they are in better shape than half our throwers.

Men should be able to beat women. If a girl beat all the guys, then the guys such.

Dressage is a sport, too. The horses should get the medals though.

I'd rather take synchro swimming out the olympics. Put in women's 50k race walk.

A lot of people bowl where I am from, what's your point? A lot of people also go clamming where I am from. Still not getting your point.

How can anyone legitimately argue that gymnastics doesn't belong in the Olympics?

If you think the average sprinter logs less than 8 miles week, you are stupid and uninformed. If you think logging 8 miles a week makes you an athlete, you are also stupid. My grandmother put in 14 miles a week, literally while smoking. What do you mean "in shape?" Our throwers are tremendous athletes, regardless of whether they look fit. By that logic, I should be in the Olympics instead of Ryan Crouser. And trust me, that is idiotic. But my body fat is low and I can run 20 miles!

If all the guys suck, why is it an Olympic sport in the first place?

Your logic is horrible on multiple fronts.

The person I was responding to said participation in shooting was low. And yes, I think bowling, where the best at knocking down pins wins, is more of a sport than dancing around and getting scores from judges.

And by our, I mean my high school team. My school shooting team, my school track team, and my nonexistent school gymnastics team.

Sara Palin wrote:

A lot of Americans shoot guns where I am from. If you want to take a sport out for participation, it would be gymnastics.

They shoot guns but that is like counting the planet fitness members when looking at how many americans do olympic lifting. And a ton more kids do gymanastics than shoot guns:)

You could go down the list of olympic sports and ask your self who in your high school did any of them? Nobody owned a horse, did canoe racing (versus just hitting the lake), archery, track bike racing, competive shooting, olympic lifting and some things like rowing, and gymnastics had participation levels approaching zero in my neck of the woods.

She has not gone unnoticed by many of us in the states. There was a special about her early on in the games, but because it's not a "sport" as many see it, it's not as glamorous as the 100m dash, or Michael Phelps.

As far as I'm concerned, each Olympic event takes a certain physical attribute, and I don't see Usain Bolt being nearly as good a skeet shooter as Rhode. Nor do I see her being able to run on the same track as Bolt.

In short, Kimberly Rhode deserved her medals and her day. Just as Bolt deserved his.

Gunnery is not a physical sport and should not be called a sport.

Why not combine shooting and running?

Tickets could be sold through lottery to fund useless public expenditure.

Lottery winners would be allowed a shot each to pick off the runner of their choice after the medalists.

The marathon would be a lot more competitive and would give new meaning to XC

Why not combine shooting and running?

Tickets could be sold through lottery to fund useless public expenditure.

Lottery winners would be allowed a shot each to pick off the runner of their choice after the medalists.

The marathon would be a lot more competitive and would give new meaning to XC

If I can become one of the best in the world in something without ever doing it previously, I don't care. Hence I don't care about shooting. Give me a gun and a year to practice and I'm sure I could be one of the best in the world. All about determination. I'll stick to appreciating actual sports.