IT IS SLIGHTLY SHORTER IN DIAMETER THAN A CAN OF SODA. AND IF YOU CAN SHOOT IT OUT OF THE SKY, YOU COULD BE AN OLYMPIC ATHLETE. STEWART SPENT SOME TIME WITH THE CHAMPION WHO MAKES IT LOOK EASY. SHE MAKES IT LOOK VERY EASY. I DID CATCH UP WITH SKEET SHOOTER DANIA VIZZI. SHE TRAINS HERE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA AND SHE IS ALREADY PUNCHED HER TICKET TO THE PARIS GAMES. PAUL DONYA VIZZI IS HEADING TO THE PARIS OLYMPICS. THE DECORATED SHOOTER HAS NEARLY EVERY SKEET SHOOTING TITLE YOU CAN WIN. I’M WORLD CHAMPION IN A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. SILVER MEDALIST, FIVE TIME WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MEDALIST, PAN AMERICAN GAMES MEDALIST, MULTIPLE WORLD CUP MEDALIST, WORLD CUP GOLD MEDALIST, WORLD CUP FINALS MEDALIST, THE TOP FOUR WOMEN IN SKEET COMPETED AGAINST THE TOP FOUR MEN IN SKEET, AND I GOT A SILVER IN THAT. BUT THERE IS ONE BIG TITLE. SHE STILL DOES NOT HAVE HANGING FROM HER NECK. THE ONLY THING I’M LACKING IS THAT OLYMPIC MEDAL. SO I REALLY HOPE TO NOT ONLY BRING IT BACK TO THE US, BUT BRING IT BACK RIGHT HERE TO FLORIDA SHOOT ARENA. HER NICKNAME. AND IF IT SOUNDS LIKE BALLERINA TO YOU, THAT’S ON PURPOSE. DANIA WAS A WORLD CLASS DANCER. COUNTLESS YEARS FOCUS ON BEING THE BEST ACCEPTED TO JUILLIARD DANCE OUT OF THOUSANDS OF APPLICANTS. BUT SHE NEVER SOUGHT HER WAY ONTO THE FAMOUS STAGE. AND THEN WHEN I WAS 16 AND I STARTED SHOOTING, I WENT FROM PROFESSIONAL BALLERINA TO WHO I WANT TO BE A PROFESSIONAL SHOOTER AND AND RANDOMLY, THERE WAS A COACH AT THE RANGE AND HE SAID, DID YOU KNOW THIS WAS AN OLYMPIC SPORT? I FEEL LIKE YOU WOULD BE REALLY GOOD AT AT IT. AND I WAS LIKE, THIS IS AN OLYMPIC SPORT. THAT’S SO COOL. I WANT TO BE AN OLYMPIAN. SO I WENT TO MY FIRST COMPETITION SHORTLY AFTER, WON A JUNIOR MEDAL, AND THEN MADE IT MY GOAL TO HOPEFULLY MAKE THE OLYMPIC TEAM. I TOLD YOU, IT’S HARDER THAN SHE MAKES IT. LOOK, I CAN ATTEST TO THAT. SKEET SHOOTING COMES AS A SURPRISE WHEN THE SHOOTER SAYS PULL. THE TARGET CAN FLY OUT ANYWHERE FROM 0 TO 3 SECONDS LATER. THE. ONE FLYING HIGH, ONE FLY IN LOW. YOU NEED TO HIT THEM BOTH. IT’S MOVING AT 65MPH AND YOU HAVE TO START WITH THE GUN IN THE LOW POSITION. LUCKY FOR DANIA, SHE TRAINS AT HOME HERE IN FLORIDA AND HER PARENTS BACKYARD. AND NOW THE WHOLE FAMILY CAN’T WAIT TO CHEER HER ON IN PARIS AND MAYBE SEE HER GOLDEN MOMENT. THERE’S A PICTURE OF YOU WITH ALL THESE MEDALS ON FROM THESE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS AND PAN AMERICAN GAMES, ALL THAT STUFF. WHAT’S THAT PICTURE GOING TO LOOK LIKE IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS? WELL, IT’S GOING TO HAVE A BIG GOLD OLYMPIC MEDAL. AT LEAST I HOPE SO. ALL RIGHT. HERE’S THE SKEET THAT WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT. SHE HAS THE CHANCE AT TWO MEDALS. IN FACT ONE IN WOMEN’S SKEET OBVIOUSLY THE OTHER ONE IS A BRAND NEW EVENT. IT’S MIXED DOUBLES WHERE SHE WILL SHOOT ALONGSIDE AN AMERICAN MAN HOPING TO MAKE THEM THE FIRST TO WIN IN THAT DEBUT OF THE OLYMPIC EVENT. I GOT TO SAY, NOT ONLY IS SHE TALENTED, I LOVE HER PERSONALITY. SHE’S AMAZING. I MEAN, HER ENERGY, JUST EVERYTHING ABOUT HER YOU CAN’T HELP BUT LIKE, ROOT FOR HER. I WAS THINKING THE SAME EXACT THING. I WAS JUST. YOU TOOK THE WORDS RIGHT OUT OF MY MOUTH. WE INTERVIEWED HER, AND THEN THE NEXT DAY, SHE GOT ON THE PLANE. SHE’S OVERSEAS RIGHT NOW, COMPETING IN A COUPLE OF WORLD CUP OF EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE OLYMPICS. BUT SHE WAS ABLE TO QUALIFY FOR THE TEAM USA BEFORE THE ACTUAL FINA
Decorated skeet shooter hopes to win big in Paris this summer
Updated: 9:25 PM PDT May 1, 2024
It travels at more than 65 miles per hour, it's slightly shorter in diameter than a soda can and if you can shoot them out of the sky, you could be an Olympic athlete.If that sounds hard, it is.A world-champion skeet shooter is now hoping to take her skills to the biggest stage.Dania Vizzi is heading to the Paris Olympics. The decorated shooter has nearly every skeet shooting title you can win."I am a world champion. World championships, silver medalist, five-time world championship medalist, Pan American Games medalist, multiple World Cup medalist, World Cup Gold medalist, World Cup finals medalist," Vizzi said.But there is one big title she still does not have hanging from her neck, Dania said."The only thing I'm lacking is that Olympic medal so I really hope to not only bring it back to the us, but bring it back right here to Florida," Vizzi said.Shooterina, and if it sounds like ballerina to you, that nickname is on purpose. Vizzi was a world-class dancer with countless years focused on being the best. She was accepted to Julliard out of thousands of applicants, but she never quite made it on the famous stage. "When I was 16, and I started shooting, I went from professional ballerina to, 'I want to be a professional shooter.' And randomly, there was a coach at the range. And he said, 'Did you know this was an Olympic sport? I feel like you would be really good at it.' And I was like, 'This is an Olympic sport? That's so cool. I want to be an Olympian. So I went to my first competition shortly after and won a junior medal, and then made it my goal to hopefully make the Olympic team," Vizzi said.She said skeet shooting is a largely mental sport. "I mean, mostly, it's a mental sport. So there's a lot of mental preparation, a lot of discipline, you have to be able to shoot the same target over and over every day, to be the best in the world. And then there's also a physical aspect, you have to be flexible, you have to be able to rotate a lot of hand-eye coordination. So there's there's lots of things that go into being a really good shooter," she said.Skeet shooting comes as a surprise. When the shooter says "pull," the target can fly out anywhere from zero to three seconds later. One flying high, one flying low. You need to hit them both. The target is moving at 65 miles per hour, and you have to start with the gun in the low position.Lucky for Vizzi, she trains at home in her parents' Florida backyard. Now, the whole family can't wait to cheer her on in Paris and maybe see her golden moment.Vizzi has the chance at two medals. One is in women's skeet, and the other is in mixed doubles, where she will shoot alongside an American man, hoping to make them the first to win in the debut of the Olympic event.
, Fla. — It travels at more than 65 miles per hour, it's slightly shorter in diameter than a soda can and if you can shoot them out of the sky, you could be an Olympic athlete.
If that sounds hard, it is.
A world-champion skeet shooter is now hoping to take her skills to the biggest stage.
Dania Vizzi is heading to the Paris Olympics. The decorated shooter has nearly every skeet shooting title you can win.
"I am a world champion. World championships, silver medalist, five-time world championship medalist, Pan American Games medalist, multiple World Cup medalist, World Cup Gold medalist, World Cup finals medalist," Vizzi said.
But there is one big title she still does not have hanging from her neck, Dania said.
"The only thing I'm lacking is that Olympic medal so I really hope to not only bring it back to the us, but bring it back right here to Florida," Vizzi said.
Shooterina, and if it sounds like ballerina to you, that nickname is on purpose. Vizzi was a world-class dancer with countless years focused on being the best. She was accepted to Julliard out of thousands of applicants, but she never quite made it on the famous stage.
"When I was 16, and I started shooting, I went from professional ballerina to, 'I want to be a professional shooter.' And randomly, there was a coach at the range. And he said, 'Did you know this was an Olympic sport? I feel like you would be really good at it.' And I was like, 'This is an Olympic sport? That's so cool. I want to be an Olympian. So I went to my first competition shortly after and won a junior medal, and then made it my goal to hopefully make the Olympic team," Vizzi said.
She said skeet shooting is a largely mental sport.
"I mean, mostly, it's a mental sport. So there's a lot of mental preparation, a lot of discipline, you have to be able to shoot the same target over and over every day, to be the best in the world. And then there's also a physical aspect, you have to be flexible, you have to be able to rotate a lot of hand-eye coordination. So there's there's lots of things that go into being a really good shooter," she said.
Skeet shooting comes as a surprise. When the shooter says "pull," the target can fly out anywhere from zero to three seconds later. One flying high, one flying low. You need to hit them both. The target is moving at 65 miles per hour, and you have to start with the gun in the low position.
Lucky for Vizzi, she trains at home in her parents' Florida backyard. Now, the whole family can't wait to cheer her on in Paris and maybe see her golden moment.
Vizzi has the chance at two medals. One is in women's skeet, and the other is in mixed doubles, where she will shoot alongside an American man, hoping to make them the first to win in the debut of the Olympic event.
