Athletes compete in the women's 50-meter rifle three position competition at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games on July 18, 2015 in Innisfil, Ontario.
INNISFIL, Ontario -- Team USA shooters Amanda Furrer and Hannah Black had one goal on Saturday: to gain the U.S. an Olympic quota spot by winning the women’s 50-meter rifle three position competition at the 2015 Pan American Games.
“I was pretty nervous,” said Furrer, a 2012 Olympian. “This was a big competition for us and I was working really hard to get that quota.”
After the first position, kneeling, Furrer sat tied for third place. She would then jump into second after prone. Furrer lost her ground and finished sixth with a score of 404.2.
Black’s highest position was fourth after the prone. In her first international final, she finished fifth with a score of 415.7.
“I went in with a plan to win,” Black said. “There was a quota on the line and that was in the back of my mind.”
Team USA will have another chance to qualify a quota spot at a world cup in Azerbaijan in August.
“In shooting, each day could be a different result,” Furrer said. “No matter how great practice has been, you never know what’s going to happen on match day. You’re only in control of yourself. I had a hard time controlling some of the nerves that I had.”
Black said she also couldn’t shake the pressure of an Olympic spot on the line.
“There was definitely a little bit of nerves,” Black said. “It’s a great learning experience.
“It was different than just finals at home because you’re representing your country. It’s so much bigger than just you.”
Despite the result, Furrer and Black were determined to work harder than ever to earn the spot for Team USA at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, and then make sure it’s their names that fill those spots.
“After this event, I know that I’m going to be working really hard over the next eight, nine months or so to make sure that I can secure one of those top-two spots and go to the Olympics,” Furrer said.
