PARIS – UT Arlington Aerospace Engineering major Austen Smith has quite the week ahead in Paris as she prepares to compete in the women's skeet shooting event at the Olympics. The Keller, Texas, native is set to compete in the qualification round on Saturday, August 3, with the final slated for the following day, Sunday, August 4. The final is available to be streamed on NBCOlympics.com at 8:30 a.m. CT.
 
Smith made her Olympic debut in Tokyo in the 2020 Summer Games, which took place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, finishing 10^th. She was 18 years old when she competed in Tokyo, the youngest member of the USA shooting team.
 
A 2024 gold medalist at the World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, Smith is seeking her first Olympic medal. She also has won gold in 2023, also in Baku, in mixed skeet shooting, at the World Championship and bronze at the Pan-American Games in Santiago, Chile and in 2019 set a world junior qualification record of 123 out of 125 targets at the ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation) Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany.
 
In the Olympic skeet shooting competition, two throwing machines at different heights launch a series of 25 targets in a specific order, some as singles, while others at doubles, with the shooter position in a fixed location between them. There are five rounds of the 25-target series, for a total of 125. The top six finishers shoot in a final round. Competitors use shotguns of 12 bore or smaller and can use all actions, including double barrel breech loaders, semi-automatic or others, but not pump-action firearms.
 
The women's skeet competition in the Olympics is a rather recent addition to the Olympic shooting portfolio, having started in the 2000 Sydney Games.
 
FOLLOW THE MAVS SOCIALLY
For up-to-date news, photos and videos, follow UTA Athletics online at UTAMavs.com or via several social media accounts on X @UTAMavs, Instagram @UTAMavs and Facebook /UTAMavs.