Shooting has officially concluded in Rio.
Don’t be sad because it’s over. Smile because it happened.
Here are the top 10 shooting moments from the 2016 Rio Olympics:
10: Barbara Engleder – Gold – Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Position
Germany’s Barbara Engleder was near or at the top of the leaderboard for most of the 50m rifle 3 position final. At the time of the last shot, she had amassed a lead of 1.6 points. Engleder shot a poor 9.0, but it was just enough to top silver medalist Zhang Binbin who shot a 10.4.
When she won, she dropped to her knees and let out a passionate scream of relief and excitement, truly encapsulating what it means to be an Olympic champion.
9: Abdullah Al-Rashidi – Bronze – Men’s Skeet
Al-Rashidi, 52, competed for the Independent Olympic Athletes team due to his home nation of Kuwait being sanctioned by the IOC. The oldest man in the semifinal, he made it to a sudden death shoot off just to get into the bronze medal match, where he won in the second round.
He then fired a perfect 16 for 16, and never gave Ukrainian Mikola Milchev a chance. Upon winning, he fell to his knees, and the crowd applauded him and his efforts.
8: Catherine Skinner – Gold – Women’s Trap
The 26-year-old Australian led the way during the semifinal, and shot a 14 in the final against New Zealand’s Natalie Rooney to win the gold. What was most impressive about Skinner’s performance was her ability to keep her composure when the targets didn’t release for her to shoot on six separate occasions.
7: Anna Korakaki – Gold – Women’s 25m pistol
Greece’s Anna Korakaki was close to winning the 10m air pistol event, but ultimately fell short and took the bronze.
In the 25m pistol event, she was intent on taking home the gold. The 20-year-old went to a shoot off against Germany’s Monika Karsch, and took a six to nothing lead to almost guarantee victory.
And then all of a sudden it was six to six. In the final round, Karsch shot a three out of five; Korakaki hit her first three and then missed the fourth. With immense pressure on her, Korakaki hit the final shot to secure her gold medal. She jumped for joy.
6: Hoang Xuan Vinh – Gold – Men’s 10m air pistol
Vietnamese shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh secured his nation’s first-ever gold medal by winning the 10m air pistol event. He had the lead, but lost it to Brazil’s Felipe Almeida Wu with one shot to go. Vinh was down by 0.2 with one shot remaining, and Wu shot a 10.1. Vinh calmly shot a 10.7 to take the gold medal from the host nation’s shooter.
5: Ginny Thrasher – Gold – Women’s 10m air rifle
Could there have been a better storyline to kick of the Olympics for the United States? The first gold medal of the Olympics going to the U.S. shooter and 19-year-old Olympic debutant Ginny Thrasher is extremely tough to beat.
4: Niccolo Campriani – Gold – Men’s 10m air rifle/50m rifle 3 position
Italian shooter Niccolo Campriani had an excellent campaign at the 2012 London Games, winning gold in the 50m rifle 3 position and silver in the 10m air rifle event. He followed up that performance in Rio by earning gold in the 10m air rifle, and reclaiming gold in the 50m rifle 3 position event. The 28-year-old is on his way to becoming an all-time great Olympic shooter.
3: Fehaid Al-Deehani – Gold – Men’s Double Trap
Fehaid Al-Deehani is another shooter of Kuwaiti descent that competed for the Independent Olympic Athletes due to the sanctions on his home nation from the Olympic governing body.
He went on to win the IOA’s first-ever gold medal, and first medal since the 1992 Barcelona Games.
The 49-year-old led the way through the semifinal (earning a yellow card for premature celebration in the process), and defeated Italian Marco Innocenti in the gold medal match.
2: Jin Jong-oh – Gold – Men’s 50m pistol
By winning gold in the 50m pistol event, South Korean Jin Jong-oh became the first-ever shooter to win three consecutive gold medals in a single shooting event.
What makes it so much more impressive is that half-way through the final, he recorded a woeful 6.6 and was close as can be to being eliminated. Instead of compounding his mistake, Jong-oh hit a 10 or above on all but one of his remaining shots, en route to an Olympic record 193.7 score.
1: Kim Rhode – Bronze – Women’s Skeet
Kim Rhode is simply one of the greatest Olympians of all time. Her six consecutive individual medals make her the only Summer Olympian to ever accomplish this feat. She started in double trap, but after she won gold in the 2004 Athens Games, the event was dropped for women. She shifted her focus to skeet, where she won silver in Beijing, gold in London, and now bronze in Rio.
Earning this last medal was no easy task. Rhode had to compete in a sudden death shoot off just to get to the bronze medal match. Then, the bronze medal match went to four rounds of a sudden death shoot off, where Rhode finally won. To secure the record, Rhode showed the champion level composure everyone knows she possesses.