He would wear it one day. It just had to be earned first.
The shirt was more than fabric, thread, logo. It was a goal, only to be pulled off the hanger when a spot on the U.S. Olympic Shooting Team was his.
“It was out of sight but not out of mind,” Shi said.
Shooting is a sport everyday people believe they could do if they had the right training, support and equipment.
It’s a bit like golf: An average player can hit an occasional good shot, maybe string several together for a good round.
Shooting at the Olympic level goes beyond having a steady hand and a good eye at the local shooting range. It’s a mental game, locking in on the 10-ring every shot, every round under heartbeat-in-the-throat pressure, tuning out the external and internal noise to focus only on target, breath, trigger.
Shi faced even longer odds.
He was 9 when the scissors he was using for a school project slid up a string and into his right eye.
