Kimberly Susan Rhode (born July 16, 1979) is an American double trap and skeet shooter.[1] A California native, she is a six-time Olympic medal winner, including three gold medals, and six-time national champion in double trap. She is the most successful female shooter at the Olympics as the only triple Olympic Champion and the only woman to have won two Olympic gold medals for Double Trap. She won a gold medal in skeet shooting at the 2012 Summer Olympics, equaling the world record of 99 out of 100 clays.[2] Most recently, she won the bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics, making her the first Olympian to win a medal on five continents, the first Summer Olympian to win an individual medal at six consecutive summer games, and the first woman to medal in six consecutive Olympics.[3]
Early life
editKimberly Rhode was born in Whittier, California, in 1979. Rhode began sport hunting at an early age, traveling on African safaris by the age of 12. Rhode began competing in skeet at age 10.[1][4]
International competition
editRhode, at 13, won her first world championship title in women's double trap shooting. After double trap shooting was eliminated from the 2008 Summer Olympics, she has concentrated on skeet. Rhode became a Distinguished International Shooter in 1995 (Badge #388).[5] In ISSF World Cup competition, she has won 19 Gold, 7 Silver, and 8 Bronze medals.[6] At the 2007 World Cup competition in Santo Domingo, she set a new world record in this event with 98 hits (73 in the qualification round and a perfect 25 in the final).[7]
1996 Olympics
editRhode won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics, making her the youngest female gold medalist in the history of Olympic shooting.
2000 Olympics
editRhode won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
2004 Olympics
editRhode won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens in Women's Double trap.
2008 Olympics
editRhode won the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in women's skeet.
2012 Olympics
editOn July 29 at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Rhode won the gold medal in skeet shooting with an Olympic record score of 99, tying the world record in this event.[8] With this medal, Rhode is the only American competitor to win medals for an individual event in five consecutive Olympics. She also became one of the three competitors (and the only woman) to win three Olympic individual gold medals for shooting, along with Ralf Schumann of Germany and Jin Jong-oh of Korea.
2016 Olympics
editQualifying for the 2016 Summer Olympics made Rhode the first U.S. Olympian to qualify for an Olympic team on five different continents.[9] Kim Rhode won the bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics, making her the first Olympian to win a medal on five different continents, the first Summer Olympian to win an individual medal at six consecutive summer games, and the first woman to medal in six consecutive Olympics.
TV Host
editRhode is co-host of the Outdoor Channel's TV program Step Outside.[10] Rhode studied Pre-veterinary medicine at Cal Poly Pomona.[11]
Stolen competition shotgun
editOn September 11, 2008, Rhode's competition shotgun was stolen from her pickup; she had been using it in competition for eighteen years.[12] The gun was returned to her in January 2009 after it was discovered during an unrelated search of a parolee's home; the parolee was charged with possession of stolen property.[13] In the meantime fans had donated to buy her a new $13,000 Perazzi shotgun. Having become used to training with the new gun, she elected to retire "Old Faithful" after four Summer Games.[14]
Personal life
editRhode spoke at the 2012 Republican National Convention, introducing several other Olympians on the stage.[15]
Rhode married Mike Harryman in 2009. Their son was born in 2013.[4][14]
In addition to being a member of USA Shooting's National Team, Rhode is an honorary lifetime member of the National Rifle Association and a member of Safari Club International.[4]
Career results
edit| Olympic results | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 |
| Double trap |  Gold108+33 |
 Bronze103+36 |
Gold 110+36 |
Not held | ||
| Skeet | Not held | 7th 69 |
5th 68+23 |
 Silver70+23 |
Gold 74+25 |
Bronze 72+14+15(+3) |
| Trap | Not held | — | — | — | 9th 68 |
— |
References
edit- ^ a b "2008 Beijing Summer Olympics – Kimberly Rhode Profile & Bio, Photos & Videos". NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on October 11, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
- ^ "Kim Rhode plans to keep on shooting for Olympic medals". July 30, 2012. Archived from the original on August 2, 2012.
- ^ "Kim Rhode wins sixth consecutive medal, makes history". NBC Olympics. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
- ^ a b c "USA Shooting Kim Rhode". Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ "Distinguished International Shooter Badge". Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ "ISSF - International Shooting Sport Federation - issf-sports.org". www.issf-sports.org. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "ISSF World Cup Santo Domingo 2007 FINAL RESULTS SKEET WOMEN" (PDF).
- ^ "Olympics skeet shooting: Kim Rhode wins to make US history". July 29, 2012. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
- ^ "Shooter Kim Rhode Qualifies For Rio, Will Be Second U.S. Woman To Compete At 6 Olympics". Teamusa.org. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ "StepOutside". Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ "PolyCentric – Cal Poly Pomona". Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
- ^ Vara-Orta, Francisco (September 13, 2008). "Olympic champion Kim Rhode's shotgun is stolen". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
- ^ Police find Olympian Kim Rhode's shotgun ESPN, January 29, 2009
- ^ a b Bonnie D. Ford (May 10, 2012). "Kim Rhode is not your typical Olympian". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on June 21, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
- ^ "Olympians at the 2012 Republican National Convention". C-SPAN. 2012.
