BEIJING, China (August 13, 2008) — The Women’s 25m Sport Pistol competition took place today at the Beijing Shooting Range Hall with Libby Callahan (Columbia, S.C.) taking 25th place, while Beki Snyder (Colorado Springs, Colo.) finished 28th.
Fifty-six-year-old Callahan, who is the oldest known American woman to compete for the U.S. at an Olympic Games (winter or summer), finished with a total score of 575.
“I made some mental airs that cost me from being competitive in the match,” said Callahan after her competition. “I am really disappointed, but I have enjoyed being here in Beijing for the Olympics and overall it’s been a great experience.”
Snyder, who was competing in her second event of the 2008 Olympic Games, also earned an overall score of 575 points. Both Callahan and Snyder have competed in three previous Olympic Games.
Chen Ying of China won the gold medal with a final score of 793.4, which is a new Olympic record. Mongolia’s Otryad Gundegmaa earned the silver medal with 792.2 and the bronze went to Dorjsuren Munkhbayar of Germany with 789.2.
Jamie Beyerle (Lebanon, Pa.) will be looking for a spot on the medal podium in her second event of the 2008 Games tomorrow when she competes in Women’s 50m 3 Position Rifle. Beyerle has dominated the Women’s 3 Position Rifle event over the past few years. She won a bronze medal at the 2007 World Cup USA and claimed the gold at the 2007 Pan American Games. At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Beyerle finished on top by a substantial margin of 22 points, to claim her first berth to the U.S. Olympic Team. Most recently, Beyerle captured the silver medal in Women’s 3 Position at the 2008 World Cup in Milan, Italy.
At 18 years of age, Sandra Fong (New York, N.Y.) is the youngest member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Shooting team. Fong will be representing the U.S. in the 3 position event in her first Olympic Games appearance. Her younger sister, Danielle Fong, recently qualified for a spot on the U.S. Paralympic Team in shooting and will be competing in the Paralympic Games in Beijing next month.
In addition to the 3 position rifle event, the Women’s Skeet competition will also be held on Thursday with U.S. shooter Kim Rhode (El Monte, Calif.), a three-time Olympic medalist (1996 and 2004 gold medalist, 2000 bronze medalist) in Women’s Double Trap competing on her fourth consecutive U.S. Olympic Team. Rhode, who shot in both the double trap and skeet events in 2000 and 2004 started focusing full-time on skeet after the Women’s Double Trap event was eliminated from Olympic competition following the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Rhode was the World Cup Santo Domingo Champion and set a world record in Women’s Skeet in 2007. She was also the 2007 Pan American Games silver medalist. This past May, Rhode earned the silver medal at the World Cup USA in Kerrville, Texas.
For complete results from the shooting competition at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, please visit the following link on the official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: results.beijing2008.cn
