It's finally here – the moment we've looked forward to for the past four years: THE OLYMPICS! This is by far the grandest event for American sport shooters, and a chance for our athletes to get some great international exposure, grab the headlines and enjoy their "15 minutes of fame" on the biggest sports stage in the world.

I have a strong feeling that we'll be seeing many of our shooters on the medal stands over the next couple weeks, and so today's blog is going to give you some more "inside info" about those shooters. Stuff you can't learn just anywhere. Commit this stuff to memory, and then impress your friends and family with these tidbits as you are watching our shooters collect their medals ... 

Trap shooter Bret Erickson nearly died just before the last Olympic Games. Shortly after he qualified for the 2004 U.S. Team, he was on a training run with his teammates when his heart stopped.  His teammates were able to get his heart going again, and doctors installed a pacemaker. Just four weeks after that, Bret shot in the Athens games.

Skeet shooter Vincent Hancock just got married. His new wife, Rebekah, is studying to be a nurse – something Vincent also plans to do after he retires from competitive shooting (something that is WAY down the road). And by the way, don't call him Vince. That's the one form of his name he doesn't like. It's either Vincent or Vinnie.

Trap shooter Corey Cogdell is perhaps the most diverse shooter you'll ever meet. Besides being an avid hunter and fisher, the Alaska native is a self-described "girly-girl" who owns more than 50 pairs of shoes. She also loves cooking, and actually worked for two years as an assistant chef for a cooking school, and then traveled to Italy just to study how to prepare authentic Italian food. Not diverse enough for you? She also calls herself a "gear head" who likes to work on old cars (mainly Jeeps and Mustangs) and in her spare time (is there any left?), she rides motorcycles, rock climbs and goes downhill skiing.

Speaking of diverse, rifle shooter Sandra Fong once won her school's science fair, and she spends a lot of time in performance art, writing and directing plays. She also plays the trumpet and sings with her school jazz band. The 18-year-old New York, New York native is heading to Princeton this fall where she will major in theater and the history of jazz.

Rifle shooter Jamie Beyerle is a terrific all-around athlete who also excels academically. She played high school basketball, softball and soccer, and she was also a junior National Champion in BB gun. AND she was also a member of the National Honor Society.

Speaking of athletic skills outside of shooting, rifle shooter Matt Emmons – the reigning gold medalist in the 50-meter prone event – once pitched a perfect game in high school baseball. His interests go beyond sports as well: Matt bought a guitar a couple years ago and is teaching himself how to play, no doubt entertaining his new wife, Katy, with his performances. Matt's a very bright guy – in fact, he has already earned a college degree in management and finance from Colorado University, Colorado Springs campus.

Double Trap shooter Glen Eller, a strong contender to win a medal, was a high school pole vaulter. It's fitting because he's about as tall and skinny as a pole vault. (I tease him about that all the time.)

Eller's double-trap teammate, Jeff Holguin, also played sports his whole life (mainly baseball), and he is a huge college football fan. Jeff's loyalties are tied strongly to his Southern California home: He's a die-hard USC Trojan fan.

Rapid Fire Pistol shooter Keith Sanderson and rifle shooter Michael Anti both love fast cars. Sanderson owns a Porsche 911 and likes to tinker with amateur racing. Anti owns a silver Corvette – which he bought for himself as a reward for winning a silver medal in the 3-position event in the 2004 Olympics. Get it – silver and silver? He claims the color was a coincidence ... but he says his plan is to buy a gold Corvette after the upcoming games ... if he wins the gold.

Rifle shooter Jason Parker has a "secret weapon" when it comes to being mentally strong as a competitor: He has a college degree in Psychology from Xavier University.

How about some tidbits on the pistol shooters? Brenda Shinn is a lieutenant in the Riverside County (CA) sheriff's department. Beki Snyder has a black belt in tae-kwon-do. Brian Beaman is big into archery. Jason Turner plays softball and golfs when he's not shooting. And Libby Callahan, at 56 the oldest Olympian, is retired from the Washington D.C. police force, where she was a lieutenant – and a five-time women's police revolver champion.

So there you have it – share these insights with friends and family while watching the games ... make 'em believe you are an expert on the USA Olympic Shooting Team! See you next time ...

Happy July from "Inside USA Shooting" on Outdoor Channel.

In my last blog we talked a lot about the shotgun shooters who were trying to make the Olympic Team. Now that the team is set, I'm here to tell you that it is LOADED and should bring back multiple medals. You can see the entire roster at the USA Shooting website, but in this blog, I'm going to give you the insight to these athletes.

The double-trap shooters, Glen Eller and Jeff Holguin, both have legitimate chances to medal in Beijing – Eller especially. He's been among the top two or three double trap shooters in the world for the past couple years, and if he "brings his A game," he could take the gold. Here's the great thing about Eller – I've never seen him rattled. He's got the greatest smirky-grin you've ever seen, like a kid caught in the cookie jar. Away from the range he looks like a guy who is enjoying the heck out of his life – traveling the globe, representing the USA and the Army Marksmanship Unit, competing against the best in the world (and usually kicking their tails). When the round is over, you can't tell if he won or lost – he's always right back to his smile, acting like a guy who just got home from a day of fishing. I really think the pressure of the games won't impact him, and that is going to be crucial to success.

Skeet shooter Vincent Hancock is a freak of nature – and that's a compliment. The kid is only 19-years-old, but he already has World Championships, World Cup medals and a World Record under his belt. He's been anointed the "Can't Miss Kid" for about a decade, and now it's time for him to perform. I think he will. He's pretty intense, even when he is not shooting. He is – without a doubt – the most focused and mentally strong teenager I have been around. He just stares a hole in the ground between shots. But I can also tell you that he is wonderfully polite, answering everything with "Yes sir" or "No sir." I think it's a combination of his southern upbringing (he's from Georgia) and now his life in the Army. He's also very mature and you can see him taking steps everyday into adulthood – in fact, he just got married. I suspect you will see Hancock win a medal in Beijing, and I also suspect that will be the first of MANY in his career.

On the women's side, Kim Rhode is a heck of a story.  If there is one name that casual sport shooters might recognize, it's probably Rhode's. After all, she has three Olympic medals in three games – two of which were gold. She won a gold medal at the age of 16, for crying out loud! How cool is that?! This year she is shooting skeet (after previously medaling in double trap).

I've gotten to know Kim really well during this series - I have her cell, home and office #'s all loaded into my phone. I don't tell you that to "name drop," but instead to give you some insight into her personality. You see, when we first met Kim, we were told that she might be a little "stand-offish" with the media. After all, she'd been in the spotlight so much that it's easy to get jaded. We were also told she might not be entirely warm with us.

We quickly found out she was totally opposite.

We (myself and Kevin Raichl, the Executive Producer of Inside USA shooting) met her before a World Cup event in Kerrville, Texas, where she agreed to co-host a show with us. We gave her a ride from the San Antonio airport to Kerrville, which is about an hour-long drive. Instead of being stand-offish, we found out that Kim is chatty, engaging, funny, warm and entirely polite. She was just great. After we got to the hotel and checked in, she asked me and Kevin if we'd like to meet for dinner. We accepted, and enjoyed a wonderful evening of conversation. Kim didn't focus on her athletic exploits at all, and instead talked about her hobbies of fixing up cars and tinkering in real estate investments.

We've seen Kim at a handful of events since then, and each time she greets us with hugs and smiles, asks about our families and everything else, giggles and hangs out and generally acts like a pal. In short, she has been the opposite of what we expected from a three-time medalist.

Oh, and about those phone numbers: As we were leaving Texas after that first World Cup, I mentioned that Ben Harper, the musician, was playing in my town later that summer and how I was eager to go. Kim mentions that her boyfriend plays in a band back in Los Angeles, and he knows Ben Harper. So Kim asks if I'd like some help securing back-stage passes. I accepted, of course, and she starts dialing friends back home to help me out. Like a life-long friend.

Now how cool is THAT!?

In my last blog I promised to write something about rifle shooter Matt Emmons, but I'll have to get that into the next blog. He's another Olympic Gold Medalist, who – like Kim Rhode - is polite, humble and respectful. That's a trend we've seen throughout this series. So we'll get into that next time. Til then, keep watching "Inside USA Shooting" on Outdoor Channel.