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World Trap Championship Preview

Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 5:50 pm
by USA Shooting
WORLD CHAMPS PREVIEW: Powerhouse U.S. Women’s Trap Team Looks to Break Medal Drought

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (August 29, 2017)

Ashley Carroll will try and showcase some of the shooting skill that has led her to earning three consecutive national titles in Women's Trap.The world’s best shotgun athletes are descending upon Moscow, Russia in anticipation of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Shotgun World Championships that gets underway Friday with Women’s and Men’s Trap.

Twenty-four U.S. representatives including six-time Olympic medalist Kim Rhode (El Monte, California), two-time Olympic medalist Corey Cogdell-Unrein (Eagle River, Alaska), two-time Olympian Frank Thompson (Alliance, Nebraska), reigning World Champs silver medalist Caitlin Connor (Winnfield, Louisiana) and three-time junior World Champs medalist Dania Vizzi (Odessa, Florida) are among those participating.

We begin our preview of World Champs competition today by focusing in on Women’s Trap, followed by Men’s Trap on Wednesday with Women’s and Men’s Skeet previews to follow on Monday, September 4 and Tuesday, September 5.

Weathering a grueling three-part Selection Match for Open competitors and a two-part Selection Match for Junior competitors, the 24 athletes who punched their tickets to Russia did so over the course of up to four Finals and 500 targets.

The Trap Women’s contingent should prove strong with Ashley Carroll (Solvang, California), Caitlin Weinheimer (Port Lavaca, Texas) and Cogdell-Unrein ready to contend. Those three will be looking to break a streak of 12-straight World Championships with no open medal in Women’s Trap. Cindy Gentry’s world title in 1999 was the last medal earned by a U.S. woman.

Carroll has been knocking on the door of contention at every recent international event. She had her breakout moment in winning her first World Cup medal earlier this year when she took gold in Acapulco, Mexico, to go along with two other top-11 performances in three other World Cups since 2016. In her last World Championship appearance in 2014, she finished in 10th place at just 19 years old. She was part of a gold-medal winning junior team back in 2011 while also earning another bronze team medal in 2010.

This will be Weinheimer’s second World Championship, having been a team member for 2011 Worlds in Belgrade. The 27-year-old mother of two was quick to credit the family support she has to help her continue to shoot for her dreams.

“I’ve always had a love for shooting and a desire to represent my country on a world stage,” said Weinheimer. “It was a dream that persisted through having kids, and I have been very fortunate to have a supportive family and husband. It has taken a lot of hard work coming back into the sport, and I am thrilled and honored to make this team.”

Two-time Olympic bronze medalist Cogdell-Unrein will be making her seventh World Championship appearance in Moscow. Her team appointment was decided by the 50th target in the Final at National Championships where she claimed the third team spot by a .5 point margin. Cogdell-Unrein switched to shooting with one eye to two in the past six months and saw her success as reassurance that she’s made changes that will make her a better athlete. Her highest finish in six previous World Championships has been sixth in 2011 with an eighth-place finish as well the year before.

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U.S. Junior Women's Trap representatives Emma Williams (left), Emily Hampson (middle) and Joyce Hunsaker.In Junior Women’s Trap, Emma Williams (Savannah, Tennessee) was the top overall qualifier for Worlds. She’ll be joined on the team by Joyce Hunsaker (Corpus Christi, Texas) and Emily Hampson (Saint Charles, Missouri). This will be Williams and Hunsaker’s first World Championships while Hampson finished 15th in 2015 while also helping earn a team bronze medal.

At the recent ISSF Junior World Cup, Williams finished 15th, followed by Hampson in 16th and Hunsaker with a 19th-place performance. This trio will look to maintain the level of success previous U.S. junior trap team members have established with five medals at the previous five World Championships, including most recently a bronze in 2015 by Ellie Roditis. Hampson paired with Roditis and Grace Hambuchen during those same Worlds to earn a team bronze medal.

More than 600 athletes from 73 countries will compete at this World Championship at the Foxlodge Shooting Range in Moscow. For more information, visit the World Championship website and follow along with results on the ISSF website.



SHOTGUN World Champs Schedule

NOTE: Moscow is seven (7) hours ahead of Eastern Time Zone.

Friday, September 1 Men’s & Women’s Trap (50 Targets) – 1:30 am ET start

Saturday, September 2 Men’s & Women’s Trap (25 Targets) – 1:30 am ET start

Jr. Women’s FINAL – 9 am ET

Women’s FINAL – 10 am ET

Sunday, September 3 Men’s Trap (50 Targets) – 1:30 am ET start

Jr. Men’s FINAL – 9:30 am ET

Men’s FINAL – 10:30 am ET

Monday, September 4 Trap Mixed Team Qualification - 1:30 am ET start

Trap Mixed Team FINAL - Semis @ 8:15 am ET

Thursday, September 7 Men’s & Women’s Skeet (50 Targets) – 1:00 am ET start

Friday, September 8 Men’s & Women’s Skeet (25 Targets) – 1:00 am ET start

Jr. Women’s FINAL – 10:00 am ET

Women’s FINAL – 11:00 am ET

Saturday, September 9 Men’s Skeet (50 Targets)

Jr. Men’s FINAL – 10:00 am ET

Men’s FINAL – 11:00 am ET

Sunday, September 10 Skeet Mixed Team Qualification – 1:30 am ET start

Skeet Mixed Team FINAL – Semis @ 8:15 am ET