Emily Stith Gains Two Silver Medals in Air Rifle at Shooting Hopes Competition in Czech Republic.
Onto bigger and better, that’s what 18-year-old Emily Stith said upon her high school graduation day last week. The one she skipped to compete in the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Munich, Germany. Friday, she proved what she was talking about while earning two silver medals in Air Rifle at the 27th Meeting of the Shooting Hopes junior competition in Pilsen, Czech Republic.
Stith (Colorado Springs, Colorado) highlighted a stellar day for the America rifle contingent that included three finalists and two team medals. Her teammate and Texas Christian University student-athlete Casey Lutz (Meridian, Idaho) also earned her way into the Final and finished sixth, the same spot she earned in Qualification.
The two combined with Olympic gold medalist Ginny Thrasher (Springfield, Virginia), a 12th-place individual finisher, to earn silver in Air Rifle team event at the Shooting Hopes competition. Ruby Gomes (Colorado Springs, Colorado) was 32nd while Morgan Phillips (Salisbury, Maryland) finished 35th.
Stith, the 2017 Junior Olympic champion in this event, had qualified fifth with a score of 415.7 and then moved up three spots during the Final and would lose on gold by just .4 points to Russia’s Maria Ivanova.
Stith’s performance continues a strong string of matches since the first of the year that also includes a second-place finish in Air Rifle and third in Three-Position at the Robert Mitchell Rifle Championships while shooting an Air Rifle Qualification score at the Meyton Cup of 421.4 back in February. That score would have been a National Record if it were a qualifying match.
