A United States Olympic shooter is reflecting on the future of the sport following her second consecutive run at the Olympic Games.
Mary Tucker, a Florida native currently residing in the Czech Republic, qualified to represent Team USA in the Women’s Air and Smallbore Rifle competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
«It’s nice to come from a country that takes so much pride in sports,» Tucker told Fox News Digital. «I always say that I like representing the U.S.A. because it’s one of those powerhouse countries in sports, in most things, but in sports especially.»
Mary Tucker, a West Virginia University graduate, competed at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. (Ju Huanzong/Xinhua; Fred Lee)
Tucker competed in the women’s 50m rifle three positions on Aug. 1, where she earned 579 points and finished in 25th place.
Team USA’s Sagen Maddalena finished in first place and qualified for the final round, where she won a silver medal.
«My career is definitely not over,» Tucker said. «I definitely have quite a lot more time, in my opinion.»
Tucker, who won a silver medal at the Tokyo Games in 2021, soared over shooting’s viewership at the 2024 Games, though she is concerned about the future of the Olympic sport.
«There is always talk of whether [shooting] is going to be taken out of the Games,» she said. «That’s kind of something that always looms. I think it’s important for people to realize, and especially people who are fans of sports, that sport shooting and other types of shooting are fairly different.»
Tucker said «it’s a very safe sport» despite similarities to the basic principles.
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Mary Tucker won a silver medal for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The West Virginia University graduate intends to focus her efforts in the near future on driving an uptick in youth involvement. At the same time, she hopes the IOC, as well as other associations and federations, will put up a fight for sports shooters.
«There are NCAA opportunities, opportunities for scholarships, for the Olympics, for traveling the world,» she said.
Tucker is hopeful that a new generation of shooters becomes part of Team USA and, to crank up enthusiasm, she is launching her own coaching business in the near future.
«I have a passion for helping the next generation come up,» Tucker said. «We need a lot more juniors so the sport can still grow.»
Ahead of the competition in Tokyo, Tucker trained five to six hours each day, at least six days per week. For Paris 2024, she grounded her training in order to maximize a balanced life.
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Mary Tucker, a Florida native, taught herself shooting techniques in high school by watching YouTube videos. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
In addition to shooting practice, Tucker incorporates cardio, yoga and strength training into her disciplines. More critically, she embraces a transportive mental workflow into the mix.
«It’s something you have to keep working on at all times,» she said. «It’s a lot of visualization. Figuring out the range, what it will feel like, how the pressure will affect you and putting yourself in those situations in your head.»
As Tucker has been nestled away in Europe, she had the opportunity last summer to shoot at the very range she competed at last week in Châteauroux, France, though the athletes were far from the 2024 Olympic festivities.
«It didn’t feel like the Games to me,» she said. «As unfortunate as it is, and we would love to be in the village and around the other sports, there was an element of calmness.»
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Mary Tucker and Lucas Kozeniesky at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. (Ju Huanzong/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Tucker, a Sarasota native, humbly believes shooting is a sport anyone can master if the motivation to explore and succeed is there.
«I could barely hit the target lying down, which is said to be the easiest position,» she said.
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Tucker said, as a high school athlete, she watched YouTube videos and replicated the techniques before entering into local competitions.
«I always say this is one of the sports, if not the only sport, that literally anyone can do,» Tucker said. «You just really have to want to do it and have the motivation. I have horrible focus, and I am constantly moving, but I am able to stay focused for the seven seconds I need to.»
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