LONDON (BP) — U.S. shooter Sarah Scherer advanced to the finals of the women’s 10-meter air rifle competition July 28 at the Royal Artillery Barracks in London before settling for a seventh-place finish overall.
“I’m very happy with my performance,” Scherer said after the competition. “It was one of those things where I had some struggles, but I gave it my all. I overcame them. I really put everything that I had out there.”
China’s Yi Siling took gold in the event. Scherer’s U.S. teammate Jamie Lynn Gray finished fifth.
The competition started with 57 shooters, with the top eight advancing to the finals. Scherer’s score of 397 in the qualifying round (out of a possible 400 points) was good enough for a fifth-place tie with four other shooters. The five who tied advanced to a shoot-off, with the top four moving on to the finals.
Scherer, who was an alternate in the 2008 Olympics, vowed at that point that she would dedicate herself to training and making the 2012 team. (Read BP’s previous feature on Scherer at http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=38361.)
“Every single day you put in your full effort, and that’s all you can do,” she said. “The rest is up to the Lord. I’m here, and I’ve done well. I think I prepared well, and I’m happy to be here.”
Her road to London was unexpectedly complicated when her brother Stephen, who was a member of the U.S. men’s shooting team in 2008, committed suicide in 2010. “The number one way I got through that,” she said, “is because I have a very strong faith in the Lord….”
“I know that my brother was here four years ago, and I’m following his footsteps and kind of carrying on with the work he accomplished,” she continued. “What he accomplished encourages me every day.”
Scherer, a junior at Texas Christian University, attends Southcliff Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas. She said her church family has provided significant support for her throughout her Olympic preparation and experience.
“The college ministry I’m a part of, they’re all rooting for me and everything,” Scherer said. “So many in the congregation are praying for me, and that’s an amazing peace and comfort to have.”
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Tim Ellsworth, in London covering the Olympics for Baptist Press, is editor of BP Sports and director of news and media relations for Union University in Jackson, Tenn. For the July 27 feature on U.S. shooter Sarah Scherer, go to http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=38361. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress ) and in your email ( baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).
