The bronze medalist at the Beijing Olympics two years ago, Cogdell on Saturday won the gold medal in women's trapshooting at the Championships of the Americas in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, where quotas for the 2012 Olympics were up for grabs.
By winning, Cogdell guaranteed that the Americans will get at least one spot in women's trapshooting at the London Olympics. Quotas are based on a country's success in international competition; in 2008, the Americans earned one spot for women and it went to Cogdell -- who came through with a bronze-medal performance.
She delivered again Saturday, winning a shootout against teammate Rachael Heiden, the reigning national champion from Clinton, Mich., to lead a 1-2-3 finish by the Americans.
Heiden led Cogdell by one target going into the finals, hitting 73 out of 75 to Cogdell's 72. In the finals, Cogdell hit 18 of 25 to Heiden's 17, forging a tie and forcing a shootoff. There, Cogdell beat Heiden four targets to three to capture the gold medal and secure the quota.
Heiden took the silver and Kelsey Zauhar of Lakeville, Minn., tied Karla de Bona of Brazil for third place.
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