Corey Codgell of Eagle River, Alaska proudly took home the Bronze Medal in this years’ Womens Trapshooting competition in Beijing, China. She is the only Alaskan to ever bring home a medal in the Olympics.

Only being introduced to International style trapshooting at age 16, and moving to Texas with her sister at 19 to begin training, Corey has accomplished some amazing feats in just a few short years of competitive style shooting.

For those who are not familiar with an International style trapshooting competition, Corey explains trapshooting as a “a flushing type target with the presentation of a pheasant type hunt, where skeet shooting is a crossing target presenting as a duck or dove style hunt.”Corey says that in International trapshooting competitions, she has the random possibility that her target can come from one of 15 machines as she waits at the shooting line. Instead of the normal target coming out of one known machine for the shooter in most clay target sports, in International trapshooting, the shooter must be prepared for the target to come out of any one of 15 machines along a 60 foot long in-ground bunker. Also, in International trap, the targets are twice as fast coming out of the machines and at harder angles than in your more regular shooting situations.

So now you might ask, where or how in the world does a homeschooled girl from Alaska learn she has medal winning talent in trapshooting? It only takes a few minutes of talking with Corey, and a couple views to her photo album to see that Corey was born to shoot.

Corey began shooting tin cans with her sister Tanis, around the young age of 3. Being homeschooled did not stop Corey from being active in 4-H, traveling to Italy to study cooking to become an assistant chef, and following her passion for shooting into the woods to hunt with her family. After 3 years of patiently waiting for her first moose harvest, Corey says, “one of my most memorable hunting moments was my first moose that I shot. It was just really special because I had gone out for 3 years trying to get a moose with my dad, and I was really lucky because my dad was right there with me when I shot it. I can remember him telling me, “shoot it baby, shoot it!” and to just be able to share that with my dad was so memorable.”

Not only does Corey have incredible talent as a trapshooter, hunter, fisherman and mechanic, this girl even rides motorcycles and can not wait to purchase her first bike in the near future! Corey is quick to encourage women who have a passion like hers for hunting and the outdoors to remain confident and proud that you are a women in the sport, and you can be just as talented and successful as any of the men. “I am a pretty strong believer that girls can be really involved in the outdoors and still love all the feminine things in life – I am such a girlie girl! I love shoes, I love to shop and I love to cook, and that doesn’t have to take away from my love of the outdoors and hunting and fishing.”

Is there anything this girl does not do? Trapshooting to bowhunting, four wheeling to fishing, Corey Cogdell is one inspirational outdoor woman.

If you want to learn more about Corey, send her an email, or check out more of her Olympic or hunting pictures, visit her Camospace site at www.camospace.com/CoreyCogdell. Also be sure to check your local listings to catch a glimpse of Corey on The Oprah Winfrey Show at the “Welcome Home Team USA” celebration this Monday, September 8, 2008.

 

No related posts.