Ariel Gibilaro takes aim at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Archery on April 20, 2016 in Chula Vista, Calif.
Eight men and eight women have advanced from the second of three stages of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Archery, held April 17-22 in Chula Vista, California, and now will look ahead to the final nomination shoot May 29-30 in Newberry, Florida. Among the 16 athletes who have advanced from the 32-person field that entered the second Olympic Trials are Olympic and Pan American Games medalists as well as one athlete who has represented three different countries at the Olympic Games and coached actress Jennifer Lawrence for her role in “The Hunger Games” film series.
The United States currently has a full allotment of three quota spots for the men’s team, but only one for the women thus far. The final opportunity to earn two more women’s quota slots and compete in the team event will take place in June in Antalya, Turkey.
Here’s a look at the 16 athletes who have advanced, in order of their standings after the second selection stage:
Men
Brady Ellison (58 points) – An Olympic silver medalist in the team event in London, Ellison is aiming for his third Olympic team in Rio. A resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, he won the 2013 world title in the team event and is the only male archer ever to win three World Cup Finals (2010, 2011, 2014). His trophy case includes three gold and two silver medals from the Pan American Games in addition to his Olympic, world championship and world cup hardware.
Zach Garrett (52.5) – Seeking his first Olympic berth, Garrett was part of the team silver-medal efforts at the 2015 world youth championships and the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games, the latter at which he also placed fourth individually. In 2014 he won silver at the U.S. Open and bronze at the national target championships.
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| Brady Ellison celebrates after a shot at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Archery on April 20, 2016 in Chula Vista, Calif. |
Jake Kaminski (45.5) – Kaminski, along with Brady Ellison and fourth-ranked Jacob Wukie, won the team silver medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games. He has enjoyed success in the team events, with golds at the 2013 world championships and Guadalajara 2011 Pan American Games, as well as the 2012 world indoor championship and 2010 World Cup Final (in mixed team). He also has earned individual gold at the 2010 Pan American Championships.
Jacob Wukie (40.75) – Along with Ellison and Kaminski, Wukie won silver at the London 2012 Olympic Games in the team event, the first U.S. archery medal since 2000. A three-time collegiate archery champion (2007, 2009, 2010), he was a four-time all-American for James Madison University. He was the alternate for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Daniel McLaughlin (39.5) – The elder of the two McLaughlin twins (by 15 minutes), Daniel holds a current ranking of 47th in the world. He began competing six months after Sean and moved to the Olympic Training Center in 2012 as part of USA Archery’s Junior Dream Team. The following year the brothers were part of the team silver medal at the 2013 world youth championship.
Sean McLaughlin (38.5) – The younger of the two McLaughlin twins, Sean holds a current ranking of 44th in the world. He began competing in 2005 and moved to the Olympic Training Center in 2012 as part of USA Archery’s Junior Dream Team. The following year the brothers were part of the team that won silver at the 2013 world youth championship. Sean won individual silver at the 2014 Pan American Championships.
Collin Klimitchek (37) – Currently ranked No. 17 in the world, Klimitchek was part of the silver-medal-winning team at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games (along with Ellison and Garrett). He has won individual and team silver at the 2015 world youth championship and claimed the bronze at the 2014 world field championship. He earned team gold and silver medals in 2015 world cup competition.
Thomas Stanwood (36) – Stanwood is returning to form after stepping away from competition to focus on his collegiate studies.
Women
Mackenzie Brown (55 points) – An alternate for the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games and world championship team, Brown made the archery world take notice in the later half of the year when she won the bronze medal at the Rio test event, struck individual gold at the world cup in Medellin, Colombia, and was part of the team gold medal at the world cup in Wroclaw, Poland. Her athletic career and Olympic dreams began in swimming, but crossed over to archery and was invited to a Junior Dream Team training camp at age 13.
Ariel Gibilaro (45.5) – Gibilaro was part of the bronze-medal-winning team at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games (along with LaNola Pritchard and Khatuna Lorig). Currently a member of the resident program at the Olympic Training Center, she has two other international team bronze medals to her credit, one at a 2015 world cup and another at the 2012 world indoor championships.
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| Khatuna Lorig competes at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Archery on April 20, 2016 in Chula Vista, Calif. |
LaNola Pritchard (44.5) – Pritchard, 21, won a bronze medal in team competition (along with Lorig and Gibilaro) at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games. She entered the resident program at the Olympic Training Center in 2012 and also has won team bronze at the 2014 Pan American championships. She won back-to-back individual gold medals at the national indoor championships.
Hye Youn Park (42.5) – Park, 39, was a member of the South Korean team for 25 years and now trains at the Olympic Training Center. She won a team gold medal with South Korea at the 2002 Asian Games.
Lauren Clamon (36.5) – Clamon began shooting in 2008 and has been a member of the U.S. archery team since 2012. A member of the resident program at the Olympic Training Center, she competed at the 2011 world youth championships and earned three silvers and a gold in the junior division at the 2012 Pan Am championships.
Erin Mickelberry (36) – Mickelberry shot at the 2014 world cup in Shanghai, where she was ninth in the team event, and in Porec, Croatia, in 2011. She competed collegiately at the University of Washington.
Khatuna Lorig (35.75) – An Olympian for three different teams, Lorig, 42, most recently won the individual gold and was part of the bronze-medal-winning team (along with Gibilaro and Prtichard) at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games. She finished fourth individually at the London 2012 Olympic Games after placing fifth in Beijing in 2008, where she was the U.S. flag bearer for the Closing Ceremony. She also has represented the Republic of Georgia (1996, 2000) and the Unified Team (1992) and was coach to actress Jennifer Lawrence for her role in “The Hunger Games” films.
Heather Koehl (28.5) – A writer for archery360.com, Koehl currently is ranked No. 214 in the world. She seeks her first Olympic team berth after being named alternate for the 2012 Olympic. She was a member of the U.S. team at the Guadalajara 2011 Pan American Games, where she combined with Khatuna Lorig and Miranda Leek to win the silver medal in team competition.
