Did You Know?

Men who shoot trap, we have a lot of those here in the U.S. But, did you know that we don’t have a single American male competing in the Olympic trap competition?

I do realize that the Olympic competition is different from the traditional American version played at clubs around the country, but it seems like we should be able to field some dude from somewhere across this great land in the sport. Anyone want to try for 2016? Come on, it’s in Rio de Janeiro.

We do have two competitors in double trap (including the very attractive Pennsylvania native Josh Richmond). In skeet, we also have two competitors.

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6 thoughts on “Did You Know?”

  2. International trap is meant to exclude all but the very wealthy and well-connected. American trap is meant to include anyone who wants to compete. You will not find any truck drivers or retired shoe salesmen in international trap.

  3. A similar question came up in Fencing last week. The answer is that the IOC doesn’t give us enough slots to compete in all the events, so every Olympiad, USA does not complete two fencing events.

    Something similar might be going on here.

    (unverified – Treat as a rumor until further investigation)

  4. Int’l trap requires at least a DECADE of INTENSE training to be world class. ATA trap requires a couple of weeks to be competitive. Don’t even try to compare them.

    And FYI the reason we aren’t fielding a Men’s trap team is because our national governing body (USA Shooting) completely f****d up. Heads should roll – but won’t. When Guatemala can send an athlete to London and the United States can’t…something’s very wrong. But, the damage is done…let’s see what 2016 brings.

    DISCLOSURE: I’ve shot Olympic-style trap for 20+ years and am currently ranked about 75th in the U.S.

    1. I’m not trying to compare them in that way. I’m merely using the example to point out that we have a lot of men in this country who regularly participate in shotgun sports that shoot at moving clay targets. In other words, we have a shooting culture here that should support creating Olympic-level athletes. I’m not saying that JimBob down at Elmer Fudd Gun Club who shoots trap every couple of weeks can compete in London. I’m just pointing out that we have a strong culture that should support more participants in these sports.

      I’d be interested to know more in how mistakes resulted in no competitors. It’s such a disappointment if that’s the case.

  5. A decision was made at the highest level of USA Shooting to send what was – essentially – our ‘B’ team to the 2011 Pan American Games. The 2011 Pan American Games held in Guadalajara, Mexico in October of last year were the last chance for our shooters to win a quota slot in Men’s Trap for the 2012 London Games. The fact that we didn’t send our best shooters insured that we weren’t able to send a Men’s team to London this year. Pundits talked about “a rebuilding year”, but it’s FOUR years between Olympiads and this decision was nothing other than an amateurish blunder by people who WE pay to know better. Those less charitable than I claim that the decision was informed more by the desire to improve fund-raising than by the desire to field a competitive Olympic Team. It’s an open secret that second rate shooters are maintained on the US team because their families donate sizable sums to USA Shooting.

    While that’s as may be, it is undeniable that we have VERY good chances to medal in Men’s Skeet and Double Trap.

    I am hopeful that this error in judgment will not be repeated in future.

    -JFW

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