American Kim Rhode can now lay claim to an Olympic accomplishment not even the most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps, can -- not yet, at least. With her bronze-medal finish in women's skeet shooting Friday, Rhode has officially medaled in six consecutive Olympic Games.
In doing so, she became the first female Olympian to accomplish the feat and only the second overall Olympian in either the Summer or Winter Olympics to claim medals in six straight. Italian men's luger Armin Zoeggeler has also medaled in six straight Olympics, most recently in 2014 in Sochi.
The 37-year-old, who was only 17 when she won her first Olympic medal -- a gold, in women's double trap in Atlanta -- won her bronze in Rio in a shoot-off with Meng Wei of China.
Rhode's bronze medal match ended in a shoot-off, after both she and Wei hit 15 of 16 clays. Rhode missed a clay in her first round of the shoot-off, but Meng followed by missing one of her own. Three rounds later, Meng missed her final clay to hand the bronze to Rhode.
Rhode lifted her arm to the sky when she realized she'd done it. She then walked over to the stands, where her husband handed her their 3-year-old son for a long hug.
"Being a mom, having a son here, it's amazing," she said. "I hope that he remembers this. We've taken tons of pictures trying to capture the moment."
This was the only event in which Rhode competed in Rio. She certainly made it count and this time gets to share it with her young son.
Over her six trips to the Olympics, Rhode has three gold medals -- two in women's double trap (1996 and 2004) and one in women's skeet (2012). She also won silver in 2008 in women's skeet and her previous bronze medal came in women's double trap in 2000.
IOC president Thomas Bach was in attendance at the shooting venue to witness Olympic history, per USA Today.
Perhaps Rhode will be back competing in Tokyo in 2020 so she can extend her record. No matter what happens, she'll always carry this most unique distinction of being the first woman ever to win medals in six consecutive Olympics.
