Emily Blount, A Shooter's Story

Emily Blount, A Shooter's Story

I am Emily Blount from Tucson, Arizona, a junior at Purdue University in Indiana. I am majoring in Electrical Engineering and doing research at the Birck Nanotechnology Center. I am 20 years old, 5'5" tall with blue eyes and long blond hair. I love to read, bike ride, roller blade, swim, and horseback ride. I am a life member of the NRA, ATA, NSSA, and the Tucson Trap and Skeet Gun club.

I am Emily Susan Blount from Tucson, Arizona, a junior at the University of Arizona. I am a student of the Honors College and I am majoring in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Math. I am 19 years old, 5'5" tall with blue eyes and long blond hair. I am a life member of the NRA, have a lifetime Arizona Hunting License and I am a Life Member of the Tucson Trap and Skeet Gun club.

At the Selection Matches for the 2006 World Shooting Championships I was the top Junior Woman on the team going to Zagreb, Croatia this last August. At the World Championships I shot lights out with a score of 71 hit targets out of 75 total targets thrown. I also shot a perfect score of 25 hit targets in my last round. I now currently hold the Junior Woman Skeet World Champion title with the gold medal! It was a very emotional experience to stand on top of the podium and listen to the US National Anthem play as our flag rose into the sky. I cried tears of joy and I imagined that I will be in the same position at the Olympics.

Biggest Achievement: My biggest achievement would be at this past World Championship last August held at Nicosia, Cyprus. I was going to defend my title of Junior Lady Skeet World Champion. I’ve been told that defending a title is always harder than claiming it, but I tried not to think about that during the competition. During the shoot, I was neck and neck with a girl from Slovakia, and we tied in the end with scores of 70/75. This led to a shoot-off, before which I was surprisingly calm with a slight bit of adrenaline (not as nerve wracked as I thought I’d be.) I won the shoot off hitting the reverse double on station four, and became a two time world champion!

Most recently: In May I completed the second half of the selection matches for the 2008 Olympics. Even though I shot a personal best score, when it was combined with the first half of the selection matches I came in fourth place. Looking on the bright side, in the final round, I shot a score of 25 perfectly. Every shot was perfectly timed, and every break was solid. It felt great. I still am proud of my accomplishments so far, and I’ll continue training for the 2012 Olympics in London. Besides, the saying goes, “It’s not the destination that matters, but how you get there.”

What’s Next: National Championships will be held in July 2008. I aim to get on the National Team once again, and continue shooting personal bests. After Nationals is the Selection match for the World Clay Target Championships in September. Since I am no longer a junior, I must place third or better to make both the National Team and the World Championship team. Wish me luck!

My dad, Larry Blount and I are out on the field for a typical day of practice
taken by Catheryn Czubek

My dad, Larry Blount and I are out on the field for a typical day of practice