Olympics / Team USA Local Olympic Spotlight: Muncy Valley, PA Native Morgan Craft Enters Rio as No. 1 Ranked Skeet Shooter by Daniel Popoloski July 16, 2016 Making her first ever Olympics, Team USA shooter and Muncy Valley, Pennsylvania native Morgan Craft is gearing up to hunt down a gold medal. Craft, 22, enters the Olympics as the number one ranked woman in the world in skeet shooting. She earned the ranking as well as her Olympic bid after defeating American teammate Caitlin Connor in the final round of the 2015 world championships in Lonato, Italy. That world championship win ended a breakout season for the young American, after earning a silver and a bronze medal in the competitions leading up to the championships. She won another World Cup event this year in Cyprus, cementing her status as one of the best shotgun skeet shooters in the world. She won the National Championships in 2014, after taking home Junior National Champion honors in 2013. Being the top ranked woman skeet shooter on the planet, Craft obviously has lofty expectations to take home the gold. However, Olympic teammate and fourth-ranked American Kim Rhode can get in her way. In London, Rhode became the first U.S. Olympian to medal individually in five straight Olympics, dating back to Atlanta in 1996. Rhode is the mark of consistency, and her bevy of experience on the sport’s biggest stages has created storehouses of knowledge for Craft to learn from. However, Rhode isn’t even the top threat to Craft come Rio. Second ranked Sutiya Jiewchaleommit of Thailand, Cyprus flag-bearer Andri Eleftheriou, and British shooter Amber Hill should all compete for the podium. Craft has a track record of beating each and every one of the other shooters competing, meaning that she is more than capable of bringing home a gold back to Pennsylvania. Craft began shooting rifles around age seven, because her father and grandfather were both shooting instructors. She started with .22s in her local 4H club, and then switched to shotguns in high school, and began shooting international skeet at age 14. She graduated from shooting powerhouse Lindenwood University in 2015 with a degree in exercise science, and hopes to become a physician’s assistant in cardiology. Post Views: 2,164 The following two tabs change content below.BioLatest Posts Daniel Popoloski Dan is a Staff Writer here at DoubleGSports.com with a focus on Team USA and the Rio Olympics Latest posts by Daniel Popoloski (see all) Team USA Proves it Can Win without Phelps, Lochte - July 30, 2017 Sydney McLaughlin becomes first Repeat Gatorade Athlete of Year - July 18, 2017 Local Swimmers Looking to Thrive at World Championships - July 18, 2017 Sydney McLaughlin Dominates New Jersey Meet of Champions - June 14, 2017 Related TopicsAmber HillCaitlin ConnorKim RhodeMorgan CraftMuncy ValleyOlympicsRio OlympicsShootingskeet shootingSutiya JiewchaleommitTeam USA Click to comment You must be logged in to post a comment Login Leave a Reply Cancel replyYou must be logged in to post a comment. Newsletter Subscription Can't Miss Posts! Women in Sports: NHL Network Host, Jackie Redmond by Nicholas Durst | posted on March 4, 2019 Women in Sports: Podcast Host, New York Riptide Sideline Reporter, Dani Wexelman by Luke Porco | posted on March 3, 2020 From Paramus High School to CBS Sports, Spero Dedes is making waves in sports broadcasting by Sunil Sunder Raj | posted on October 27, 2020 Lochte, Dressel and Ledecky all Chasing Gold at 2021 Tokyo Olympics by Anthony Paradiso | posted on April 18, 2021 “Overtime” l Ep. 28: TopSpin Celeb-Athlete Tournament – Dec. 6, 2018 by Stefany Romero | posted on December 19, 2018 More in Olympics / Team USA Lochte, Dressel and Ledecky all Chasing Gold at 2021 Tokyo Olympics The 2021 Summer Olympic games are scheduled to take place from July 23 –... You Know I’m Right, Episode 94: Olympic Gold Medalist Lilly King (Audio/Video) On the 94th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst was joined by olympic... The Tokyo 2021 Olympics Will Feature New Amazing Sports Surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing, karate, baseball and softball will compete at the Summer Olympics. You Know I’m Right, Episode 82: NBC’s Mary Carillo (Audio/Video) On the 82nd episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... Local Olympic Spotlight: Piscataway, New Jersey Native Colton Brown, Team USA Judo Local Olympic Spotlight: Mount Olive, NJ Native Keturah Orji, Team USA Track & Field