USA Shooting Announces 2007 Athletes of the Year

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (November 26, 2007)

USA Shooting (USAS) is pleased to announce that 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Matthew Emmons and three-time Olympic Medalist Kimberly Rhode have been selected as the 2007 USAS Athletes of the Year.

These athletes were chosen based on the USAS Athlete of the Year Policies and Procedures and were selected by a points system.

Emmons (Browns Mills, N.J./Fairbanks, Alaska) recently secured two nominations to the 2008 Olympic Team following a two-year point selection system and a gold medal win in the Men’s 50m 3 Position Rifle event as well as a silver in the Men’s Prone Rifle event at the 2007 ISSF Rifle/Pistol World Cup Final in Bangkok, Thailand.

Emmons won a total of eight medals on the World Cup circuit in 2007. Along with his gold and silver at the World Cup Final, Emmons captured the gold in Men’s Prone along with the silver in Men’s 10 Meter Air Rifle at the 2007 World Cup USA at Fort Benning, Ga. in April. He claimed the bronze in Men’s 50m 3 Position Rifle at the 2007 World Cup in Sydney and took home the silver at the 2007 World Cup Bangkok. He also won the silver in Men’s Prone as well as 50m 3 Position at World Cup Munich.

Rhode (El Monte, Calif.) was the 2007 World Cup Santo Domingo Champion and set a world record in Women’s Skeet. She was also the 2007 Pan American Games Silver Medalist and 2007 National Champion in Women’s Skeet.

Rhode finished in sixth place at the 2007 World Clay Target Championships and is currently leading the Olympic Shotgun Team Selection in Women’s Skeet after winning the 2007 Shotgun Fall Selection Match. Rhode will be vying for a spot on her fourth consecutive Olympic Team at the final Shotgun Olympic Selection Match in Kerrville, Texas in March.

Emmons and Rhode were selected as the overall USAS Athletes of the Year, but USAS would also like to recognize the Discipline Athletes of the Year, who were the individuals with the highest number of points in each discipline. Vincent Hancock was the top male athlete in Shotgun, while Jamie Beyerle won the honor for Women’s Rifle and Keith Sanderson had the highest number of points for Men’s Pistol.

Eighteen-year-old Hancock (Eatonton, Ga.), a member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU), had a very successful 2007 winning the World Cup in Italy and setting a finals World Record in Men’s Skeet. He also captured the gold at the 2007 Pan American Games and won the bronze medal at the 2007 World Clay Target Championships. Hancock is currently leading the Olympic Selection process in Men’s Skeet by winning the 2007 Shotgun Fall Selection Match.

Beyerle (Lebanon, Pa.), the 2006 USAS Female Athlete of the Year, claimed the gold medal in Women’s 3 Position Rifle at the 2007 Pan American Games. Beyerle also took the bronze medal at the 2007 World Cup USA in Women’s 10 Meter Air Rifle and claimed the National Title in 3 Position Rifle.

Sanderson (San Antonio, Texas) claimed the bronze medal in Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol at the 2007 World Cup in Munich, winning an Olympic quota slot for the U.S. He was also the 2007 Pan American Games Silver Medalist in Men’s Rapid Fire and took second place at both the 2007 Spring Selection Match and the 2007 National Championships.

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