Thursday, July 31, 2008

Trap Shooting Phenom

In the world before cable TV and 212 hours of programming many of the "lesser" Olympic events were never viewed by more than the few fans in the stands at the venue. One of the events that doesn't get much hype is trap shooting.

Trap shooting is a sport in which men and women shoot at "clay pigeons" (pottery discs) that are launched into the air by a machine. It simulates that flight of birds and the quick aiming and firing necessary to game fowl.

This year 21 year old Corey Cogdell is competing in Women's Olympic Trap Shooting after winning the U.S. trials in the sport. Born and raised in Alaska she started shooting at the age of 3. After her mother passed away when Corey was only 9 years old, her father raised she and her sister on his own. Corey immediately took to hunting and has bagged lots of game (including a moose) over the years.

She didn't become interested in competitive shooting until she joined 4-H and tried trap shooting for the first time. Before long she had a new hobby and was practicing non-stop. She began shooting competitively at the age of 19 and set her sites on the 2012 Olympics in London.

After competing internationally for only 2 years Corey was totally shocked to have won the trials and qualified for the games in Beijing. Corey has more hunting experience than most of the other competitors even though they have more competitive shooting experience. She is by far the youngest member of the team but she can obviously hold her own when it comes to trap shooting.

Corey Cogdell is someone to watch.

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