2012 Summer Olympics - London

[Trent]

If you were going to this year's Olympic Games (as a spectator), which shooting sport would you most want to watch?

My wife and I are going because we have a very close friend that is running in the Olympic marathon and we want to be there for that. We'll be there for a week and I think we will be able to see one shooting event, hopefully. I'm thinking Skeet would be the most spectator friendly. I would be all about air rifle but I fear that my wife would bore of that quickly.

Cheers!

[Jim Beckley]

I would try to see Kim Rhode shoot, I think she does double trap.

[Trent]

Is she the five time medalist?

[Dee]

Any of them would be cool. Though I find watching clay birds break boring after a short time as well. I would go with air rifle or pistol or one of the 50m events. At least for paper shooting you have the nice monitors and running scores of each shooter so you can see what is going on. Plus they have more shooters on the line all at once which I find more interesting.


Dee

[lone ringer]

International shooting is not as boring since they instituted the shoot off or extra ten rounds they top 8 shooters have to shoot to add to their final score. The best American three position shooter Matt Emmons has messed up twice in two different Olympics by cross firing or by getting bad score in his last target and instead of winning gold he was out of the medals altogether. They use cameras for the public to follow the shooters progress and even encourage spectators to cheer for their favorite shooter on the finals. If I went I would try to watch the three position shooting for both males and females.
I had a chance to watch several pre Olympic shooting events at Prado Tiro before 1984 and I can tell you that following trap shooting from the stands was kind of hard to see what was going on because of the distance from the shooters and where they broke the targets. A lot of times is easier to follow some of those Olympic sports on TV but rarely do they show Olympic Shooting events.

[nomad]

Kim Rhode will, if she medals this year, accomplish something never before done -- medal in 5 straight Olympics.

IIRC, she started in doubles trap and, when that event was dropped from the Olympics, changed to skeet and medalled there!

She was the keynote speaker at this year's TX State Rifle Association annual convention banquet. Very articulate, entertaining and interesting. I had the pleasure of talking with her for some time after the dinner and found her to be one of those very rare personalities whom you just can't help liking...and being impressed by.

The Brits -- who have an extremely unhealthy fear of anything shooting related -- had apparently planned to restrict Olympic viewing to only those 18 yrs and older. Now, in a pretty dramatic reversal, they are sending an interview team to the States to meet Kim in New York (with her shotgun) and that interview will be the lead-in for the Summer Games. Quite a turn-around.

I'd look in on the shotgun event, even though I'm almost strictly a rifle shooter and little interested in any other venue, just to -- hopefully -- watch a really talented American shooter make history.

Ernie

[Trent]

Yeah, thats her. I saw an interview with her the other day. I guess I misunderstood and thought she had already won the 5 consecutive medals. That would be cool to see. I'm not getting there until August 3rd and I think her competition may be over before I am able to get to the shooting fields. I'll have to double check.

If I miss that then I think I may try to watch the mens 3-position. I can't go to the Olympics and not watch some shooting events. The wife is totally on board too. We were watching the segment about Kim Rhode together the other day.

[lone ringer]

Trent, you should be trying to buy tickets now and not wait till you get there. Some popular events get sold out several months prior of the start of the Olympics

[Trent]

Trent, you should be trying to buy tickets now and not wait till you get there. Some popular events get sold out several months prior of the start of the Olympics

Definitely. Tickets aren't on sale yet though. The Olympic website says they'll go on sale "in the spring". I'm checking daily so that we can jump on them.

[kevinbear]

Don't forget that exciting olympic sport "curling" I've heard it takes years to learn how to polish the floor in front of the puck!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hr2DABUrTE

[Trent]

Thats a Winter sport Kevin. I'll have to find some funny/weird summer sport. Too bad they don't do tug-of-war anymore. That would be fun to watch.

[Rossjoy]

Definitely. Tickets aren't on sale yet though. Too bad they don't do tug-of-war anymore. That would be fun to watch.


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