An estimated that 20 million Americans "hunt, and more yet compete at shooting ranges," so Olympic medalists "can serve as compelling faces of the firearms industry," according to Helliker & O'Brien of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. U.S. shooter Kim Rhode, who on Friday became the first American in history "to win an Olympic medal at six different Summer Games," has a "list of sponsors that include a firearms retailer, a hunters' conversation group, and manufacturers of guns, ammunition and gun-cleaning equipment." After winning Gold at the '12 London Games, Rhode "made an appearance at a hunting trade show" on behalf of New York-based gun-cleaning kit maker Otis Technology. TruckVault, a maker of secure in-vehicle storage lockers, "began sponsoring Rhode after she became a customer, following the theft of a shotgun from her vehicle." Tucson-based Safari Club Int'l, a hunters’ conservation group, sponsors Rhode "and two other female U.S. Olympic shooters." Safari Club CEO Phil DeLone said sponsoring Olympians "strongly supports women in the shooting sports." Helliker & O'Brien note U.S. shooter Corey Cogdell "entered the Rio Games with only a bronze medal from Beijing -- yet with a list of sponsors that included a firearms retailer, a firearms maker and the Safari Club." Since winning Bronze in trap shooting at Rio, Cogdell said that she had been "contacted by a couple of other companies interested in potential endorsements." Helliker & O'Brien note sponsorship typically "doesn't allow shooters to live high." In most cases, it is what "allows them to remain competitive in a sport whose training costs rank among the highest of Olympic sports" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/12).
SHOOTING BLANKS: THE DAILY BEAST's Gabrielle Glaser reports U.S. shooter Ginny Thrasher, who last Saturday won the first competition at the Rio Games in the air rifle competition, is "unlikely to spin her gold medal ... into dollars." Univ. of Oregon Warsaw Sports Marketing Center Dir Whitney Wagoner said, "Not too many people have watched air rifling and said, 'Oh my God, I want to do that.' We look at athletes and want to be like them, or at least to be perceived to be like them. In order for brands to invest in people, and to want them to encourage people to buy their products, you have to care about that person" (THEDAILYBEAST.com, 8/12).
