Kim Rhode’s unbelievable winning streak continued as she took her fourth consecutive World Cup gold in Changwon, South Korea, earlier this month, becoming the first woman to do so.
This is Rhode’s 21st World Cup victory, which is a whopping 10 more than the closest competitor.
And as you probably already know, she is the only U.S. Olympian ever to medal in six consecutive Olympic Games.
At the Changwon, South Korea World Cup, Rhode only missed six out the 185 clays thrown for her from qualifier to finals. As a testament to the quality of the competitors in the field, only a handful of targets separated first and second places.
Rhode broke 57 of 60 in the final to grab the gold, while Italy’s Diana Bacosi hit 54 to take the silver. Fellow Italian Chiara Cainero broke 44 for the bronze.
“It’s like a flashback to the Rio podium,” Rhode said. “I’m still in shock and can’t believe I’ve been able to win four straight World Cup golds … right now, I’m focused on making the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team, so all the rest is just icing on the cake!” Rhode told the Los Angeles Times.
I recently had the good fortune to speak with Kim at length, and I can tell you no one deserves to win as much as she does. She puts in more time and effort to honing her skills than probably anyone else in the world—all while managing to make her family her number one priority.
And despite her unprecedented winning streak, she is as humble a person as I have ever had occasion to talk to. We wish her continued good luck as she leads up to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, though her dedication and training carries more weight than our well wishes.