Olympic medalist Corey Cogdell bites down on her bronze at her medal ceremony. Photo courtesy the AP.
Story Created:
Aug 11, 2008 at 1:38 PM AKDT
Story Updated:
Aug 11, 2008 at 1:38 PM AKDT
Eagle River's own Corey Cogdell is the first Alaskan to become a medalist at the Beijing Olympics. Her medal came late Sunday evening when she won a four-way shoot-off for the bronze medal in women's trapshooting.
At age 21, Cogdell was the youngest competitor to make it to the finals, where she ousted Daina Gudzineviciute of Lithuania, Elena Struchaeva of Kazakhstan and Japan's Yukie Nakayama, who all fired and missed.
Upon entering the finals, Cogdell, was one off the lead from the qualifying round. However some unfortunate rounds widened that gap. A strong finish allowed her to snag the title, as she was the only finalist to hit her last five shots, which forced the qualifying round into a tie-breaking shootout. A great performance for the Alaska who only a year ago finished 50th at the 2007 World Championships.
Cogdell was the only U.S. Team member to make it to the finals and it was due in large part to her shooting during the Sunday afternoon qualifying round.
Finishing with a score of 69, Cogdell missed only two of her 25 targets in all three rounds. Only two other shooters tied Cogdell, Gudzineeviciute of Lithuania and Struchaeva of Kazakhstan.
A 70 was posted by only two other shooters, Zuzana Stefecekova of Slovakia and Satu Makela-Nummela of Finland, the best posted by any women trapshooters.
Both the medal and being named to the Beijing team came as a surprise to the shooter, who has only been shooting for two years. Her original goal was to make it to the Olympics in London in 2010.
For those who have followed Cogdell's career, this came as no surprise as she has claimed two other bronze medals at other international games. Those being the World Cup event in Korea, her international debut, and the Pan Am Games.
Cogdell's talent was formed as a young girl who's sights were filled with tin cans in Chickaloon. Her first competitive experiences took place at the shooting range in Chugiak.
Cogdell has spent the past eight months at the Colorado Springs U.S. Olympic Training Center, where she was invited to live and train.
