Lydia Paterson may be just 18 years old, but the Kansas City, Kansas native has already made her mark as a world-class pistol athlete at the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Munich, Germany. There, she earned an Olympic Quota in Women's Air Pistol
Paterson captured the quota with a 386/400, which placed her eighth in the Women's Air Pistol Final, the highest U.S. finish in this event internationally since 2012 Olympian Sandra Uptagrafft made Finals and finished eighth at the 2010 ISSF World Championship. Paterson also earned USA Shooting's first quota in the event since four-time Olympian Rebecca Snyder did so back in 2005, prior to the 2008 Olympic Games.
A quota spot is essentially the entry ticket necessary for a country to compete in Olympic competition in a particular discipline. A country is allowed to earn only two quotas in Women's Air Pistol, and an athlete can win only one quota for her country-regardless of the discipline. Quota spots are then awarded to the next eligible athlete in the rankings, and thus Paterson won one of the three available quotas at this World Cup. USA Shooting athletes winning Olympic quotas will still have to earn the right to compete in the Olympic Games separately. (More information on selection procedures and quotas for 2015 World Cups and the 2016 Olympic Games can be found here.)
For complete results from the ISSF World Cup in Munich, please visit the ISSF website.
