Army 1st Lt. Amber English took home Olympic Gold in skeet shooting by besting the defending champion Diana Boscani of Italy. English shot 56 of 60 targets to win the Gold Medal.
English’s 56 was three off of the world record of 59, which had been set by China’s Wei Meng. However, the record holder came third in this final.
“I just feel numb right now, this has been a long time coming,” said English right after the award ceremony. “I feel sheer relief.”
She Didn’t Give Up
English had missed the cut for the Olympic team in 2012. In 2016, bothered by the recent loss of her father, she didn’t qualify for the main team. Yet, rather than giving up on her dream, she channeled her energy into also serving her country.
Amber English joined the Army as a logistics officer in 2017 and quickly became a member of the Army’s Marksmanship Unit at Ft. Benning, GA. She received a lot of support from her fellow servicemembers to try for the Games one more time. English trained five to seven days per week from dawn to 16:30. This time, her hard work paid off.
She and nine other troops are representing the country and the military at the Tokyo Olympics as part of the World Class Athlete Program (WCAP), which allows soldiers to perform at the international level of competition.
A Hard-fought Victory
The international Olympic shooting competition requires that athletes shoot 125 targets in two days of competition.
English’s win over the reigning champion was close, beating Boscani by just a single point.
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