She can fire a bullet through the period at the end of thissentence from 33 feet away.
It's with that kind of precision that Beth Tidmore shot up theranks of competitive shooting in the last three months, almost asfast as one of her 22 caliber bullets.
With a win at the National Junior Olympics and a third placefinish at the USA Shooting National Championships three monthslater, The University of Memphis freshman earned a spot on the U.S.National Team.
Being a member of the U.S. National Team means that Tidmore cancompete and represent the U.S. in international events such asworld cups, which Tidmore described as 'mini-Olympics.'
The lofty goals Tidmore has already attained seem even moreastounding when learning that she didn't begin shootingcompetitively until just over three years ago.
"My (high) school had a team and I decided kind of on a whim tojoin it," Tidmore said.
Despite her fast rise to the top of the shooting world, Tidmorecredits her mother and strenuous practice with her success, notnatural ability.
"About three months into it I wasn't really interested," Tidmoresaid. "Then my mom took me to look at an Olympic-style gun. Ipicked the gun up, shot a pretty good score and my mom turnedaround and told the guy, 'we'll take it.'"
That was April 1, and the shooter said she thought her mom wasplaying a joke on her.
She would soon learn it was no joke.
"I was actually upset about getting the gun because it waspretty expensive," Tidmore said. "I remember crying to my momasking her not to buy it because I knew she was spending herChristmas bonus on it."
With a gun capable of shooting elite scores and the support ofher family, the 19-year-old said she knew it was time to go towork.
"Everybody my age had already been shooting since they werethree years old and I knew if I wanted to ever be as good, I wouldhave to work harder," she said. "I practiced five, six or sevenhours a day, seven days a week for a year and a half."
By that time, Tidmore had become one of the preeminent youngshooters in the nation and, with a nearly 4.0 GPA, had a widevariety of colleges and universities, including virtually all ofthe top-10 teams in the nation, vying for her commitment.
"I traveled to a lot of different schools and talked with a lotof different coaches, but Memphis felt the most like home to me,"Tidmore said. "I loved the coach (Butch Woolbright) and everyone onthe team seemed to be like a family."
If the Memphis team is a family, then Woolbright is the proudfather.
"The main things Beth brings to us is intensity andencouragement," Woolbright said. "I don't see how she could havedone any more in her first year than what she did."
During her first year in her comfortable new digs the NationalTeam member and freshman captain became the most decorated athletein the program's 11-year history while earning a spot on theAll-American team, the Academic All-American team and leading theTigers to a top-25 ranking.
Woolbright said Tidmore is on a higher plateau than almost everyother collegiate shooter.
"She's learned how to compete on a different level," he said."She stays focused and can't be rattled. She is also probably theonly freshman team captain at the collegiate level."
Tidmore said being a first-class shooter is not accidental andmust be earned through hard work.
Teammate Bobby LeBlanc said Tidmore has devoted herself to beinga top-notch shooter.
"She's committed her life to this sport and she deserves everybit of success she's received," LeBlanc said. "She spent a lot ofFriday nights at the (shooting) range instead of hanging out withher friends. She's more committed to this sport than anyone I knowis committed to any other sport."
Tidmore works relentlessly for the millimeters that determinethe difference between the greatest shooters and the good ones,those millimeters are especially important since she can't actuallysee the bull's-eye when she fires.
"First of all you're shooting at something you can't see," shesaid. "There's no magnification at all in our scopes. You also haveto pay attention to your breathing and your heartbeat."
However, the first and most important thing Tidmore takes intoaccount before shooting is the wind.
Wind can affect the bullet enough to push it off its course andtherefore, the freshman must read the direction, strength and anglethe wind is blowing before each shot.
"Matches are absolutely won and lost over the wind," Tidmoresaid. "Good wind readers win matches."
She said being calm and confident are important qualities foundin great shooters, which explains why she isn't satisfied with theamount of success she was enjoyed and is setting her sights evenhigher.
"It is possible that I could go to the Athens Olympics (in2004), but it's not necessarily likely," the Olympic hopeful said."The 2008 games are extremely reasonable though. In fact I'll goahead and say it- I am going to the Olympics in 2008. That's whatI'm training for and that's what I'm working for."
Sometime after she was given her first gun and before she becamea National Team member Tidmore asked her mom how she knew that shewould have such a knack for shooting.
"I asked her how'd you know I was going to be good?" Tidmoresaid.
"When you picked up that rifle," her mother said. "I could justsee this gleam in your eye. I could see that you would have apassion for it."
