The United States has now won two medals in the shooting competitions at the Rio Olympics, with Corey Cogdell winning the bronze medal match in women’s trap shooting.
Cogdell, who joins 10 meter rifle gold medalist Virginia Thrasher as Americans to have earned a spot on the medal stand this weekend, beat Spain’s Fatima Galvez to win her second Olympic bronze medal. Cogdell also won bronze in this event in 2008 in Beijing. Cogdell also became the second American to earn two Olympic medals in shooting, with Kim Rhode being the first.
Winning the gold medal in the women’s trap competition was Australia’s Catherine Skinner, who beat Natalie Rooney of New Zealand in the gold medal match. After shooting 14-for-15 in the semifinal round Skinner shot 12-for-15 in the final to win gold. Rooney, who has never finished in the top five of a World Championships competition, won New Zealand’s first shooting medal since 1968 and the nation’s first-ever silver medal in shooting.
All three gold medalists in the women’s shooting competitions thus far have been Olympic debutantes, Skinner, Thrasher and China’s Zhang Mengxue.