(NEXSTAR) For USA Shooting, the 2024 Paris Olympics provide an opportunity to build on the success from the 2020 Games in Tokyo.
That’s where Team USA earned 6 medals, its best performance since 1964.
Sarah Beard is one of the athletes hoping to represent the U.S. this summer.
“Before it was all about how much you can train. Now it’s how smart can I train”, said Beard. “What do I really need to prioritize to be able to walk up on the line and be ready to shoot the very best I possibly can?”
It takes a steady hand and steady mind to be successful in shooting. Beard knows that well, training nearly every day at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO.
“I’ve been shooting for a while now. This will really be the third trials that I’ll be hitting hard,” said Beard. “I feel very prepared and really excited honestly. I think before, honestly, it was just pure nerves and now it’s exciting. I feel really trained up and ready to go.”
The Army captain competes in air rifle and smallbore rifle. If she qualifies for the Olympics, she will be the second Olympian from her family, joining her dad who competed in 1984.
“He never asked me to start shooting. He never said, hey let’s go to the range or anything like that. I had to beg him to start shooting. And he took me to a match a long time ago, and I just fell in love with the sport,” said Beard.
Rylan Kissell also has his sights set on Paris, and during his first real attempt at earning an Olympic bid, he’s learning how to best prepare himself.
“I think I’m sitting in a good spot, but I really need to find the right line between pushing too hard and maybe not pushing enough,” said Kissell. “I think that’s one of the hardest things for shooters to do because there’s a very fine line between, I’m trying too hard to get this done and it kind of deteriorates a little bit or I’m not trying hard enough.”
Kissell took second in the Pan-American Games in the men’s 10-meter air rifle last fall and second in the U.S. Olympic Trials earlier this month. He’s not on Team USA yet, but he’s on target if he can handle the pressure when the time comes.
“The pressure can get to you sometimes. I think the only thing you can do is learn from those experiences and try to make yourself better the next time you’re in that position. Because there will be another time,” said Kissell.
The next round of Olympic Trials for shooting comes in March. The full USA Shooting team will be announced this summer.
