Corey Cogdell-Unrein
The two-time Olympic bronze medalist and World Cup gold medalist participated in the first-ever Team USA trap mixed team tryout near Colorado Springs, Colorado.
There was plenty on the line with the top two duos out of 33 teams earning the right to represent the United States at this fall’s ISSF World Championship in South Korea.
As usual, Cogdell-Unrein brought her A-game.
The 31-year-old Alaskan teamed with Jake Wallace to place second overall after two days of competition. She will be part of the U.S. contingent going to the world championships, which will hold the trap mixed team event for only the second time.
Trap mixed team made its world championship debut in 2017 and makes its Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
“Being a returning Olympic medalist in individual trap, my goal is to make the next Olympic team with my partner and go out there and win a medal,” Cogdell-Unrein said in a press release. “I think we are both very capable of that. I’ve proven that, and Jake is one of the top in the world, so I think we have a great chance to win an Olympic medal.”
The new format has caused shooters to shift how they think about the sport.
At the international level, the qualification round consists of each athlete shooting at 75 targets for a total of 150 targets per team. The top six teams advance to the final where athletes alternate in shooting a series of five targets.
From there, an elimination process begins until the remaining two teams finally shoot two additional five-target sequences for a total of 50 targets to decide the gold.
“It is a different mental aspect,” Cogdell-Unrein said. “You are not only shooting for yourself, but you are shooting for someone else as well.”