From: SPARTA, WI
Occupation: PRODUCT SPECIALIST/PROMOTIONS
Events: ARCHERY
Participating Since: 1990
Competing Since: 1992
Competitive History
2004 TARGETSPORTS QUALIFIER, NV TRG ARCHERY 2
2003 MCKEAN ELMINATOR TRG ARCHERY 2
1996 OLYMPIC GAMES, ATLANTA TRG ARCHERY 1
1996 OLYMPIC GAMES, ATLANTA TRG ARCHERY 3
Competitive Performance
GOG 2003 TRG ARCHERY 5
GOG 2002 TRG ARCHERY 7
GOG 2001 TRG ARCHERY 3
Notable
Rod's Olympic coach, Karen Strickland, taught him to visualize his targets to be successful. Now Rod will run through all of the stations in his head (he said he was even doing this during our interview) and visualize himself shooting them successfully. He feels you have to have a successful mental picture. He said it's only the last round that can throw him, because he can hear the other arrows hitting the targets and it can be distracting wondering if the other archer is ahead.
Quotable
"No one knows me for winning an Olympic gold medal at the 1996 Games, but people know me from the ESPN Games. This event is a much bigger adrenaline rush, and I love this format"