Shooter sets her sights on Olympics

Growing up in Eddyville, Iowa, Haley Dunn didn’t have much use for dolls.
She preferred guns. BB guns at first and then, at the age of 10 when her father opened a shooting range, Dunn was given her first shotgun.
She’s been blasting things out of the sky ever since.
Last week in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, Dunn proved she’s one of the best shots in the world by winning a gold medal during the women’s international skeet competition at the Pan American Games.
The University of Missouri senior, who plans to graduate in December with a degree in agricultural business management, hit 94 of 100 targets to claim the international championship.
"It was an honor to be there," Dunn said. "This is definitely in the top."
The pinnacle, however, would be an Olympic medal, and Dunn has her sights set on her next target: the 2008 summer games in Beijing, China.
"That’s been the goal for the past three years," said Dunn, who was an alternate for the 2004 Games after placing second by three targets. "It was a little disappointing being that close and not making it."
By defeating U.S. teammate and two-time Olympic gold medalist Kim Rhode by three targets last week, Dunn appears to be on track to reach her goal. Her gold-medal winning performance wasn’t surprising to Tyler Schwab, a teammate of Dunn’s on the MU shooting team.
Schwab said that Dunn has been driven to be the best in her event, which involves shooting 41/3-inch clay targets that move at speeds up to 55 mph, since that near miss in 2004.
"She’s the one to beat," Schwab said. "She probably wouldn’t say that, but she’s the one everyone’s chasing."
Dunn said she still has plenty of room to improve before the first round of Olympic trials that begin next month in Colorado Springs, Colo. Although she led the Pan Am event after each of the four rounds, she wasn’t particularly pleased with her final score.
"Oh, I wasn’t happy with it," Dunn said. "I’m never happy with it. It definitely should have been a 97 day. It was good enough to win that day."
Dunn’s been driven to succeed in her sport since her father, Larry, opened the shooting range 12 years ago. Starting with a 20-gauge shotgun at 10, she advanced to a 12-gauge when she was 12.
At 15, she was invited to join the U.S. junior team. That opportunity offered her a chance to travel the world - she’s competed in 20 countries - and hone her skills by training with the best shooters in the country.
"There’s not a whole lot of us," Dunn said. "It was something I was introduced to at an early age. That’s how I was raised. That’s what I was around my entire life. The competitiveness just came along with me."
Dunn chose to attend MU because it offered her a little space from home - Eddyville is about 3 hours from Columbia - and she could practice as much as she wanted at the Cedar Creek Rod and Gun Club owned by Ralph and Mary Ann Gates.
Even with her hectic schedule, Dunn says she tries to get out to the range at least six times a week or, "Dang near every day I’m in town."
She hasn’t been around much lately. Since returning from Brazil, Dunn’s been trying to work her way back to Iowa for a quick visit before returning for her final semester.
News of her gold-medal performance moved fast in Iowa. She was contacted by two media outlets while still in Brazil and said that she’s been invited to attend a couple of public functions in Oskaloosa, Iowa, a neighboring town a few miles north of Eddyville.
"I have to go the races and they’ll introduce me and probably make me talk or something," she said. "The town of Oskaloosa has really supported me."
She hopes in a couple years, the community will have an Olympic achievement to celebrate.
"I’m definitely going into it a lot tougher and a lot more confident," Dunn said. "I feel like I’ve got my game figured out."