Kim Rhode is a 4 time Olympian and 4-time Medalist (2 gold, silver and a bronze) in the shooting events of skeet shooting (Oh? So that's what skeet shooting is? I always thought that was something different) and double trap. In Atlanta in 1996, she was the youngest female gold medalist ever in a shooting event at the age of 17.

Thursday, she parked her pickup truck at a Lake Elsinore, CA shopping center parking lot to do some shopping for her upcoming wedding. She was shopping for about an hour and a half in the middle of the afternoon and came back out to see her pick up truck's back window shattered and her custom-made, medal winning 12 gauge shotgun missing. Nothing else was taken from the truck.

The shotgun was in a custom crafted case and not on a gun rack, in case you were wondering.

There was surveillance video of two men circling the truck but there was no clear video of them committing the crime. Rhode is offering a reward of $5,000 for the tip that gets her gun returned.

Kim Rhode with her trusty 12 gauge. Hopefully the abductors will be found soon with the shotgun returned unharmed. (LA Times photo)

It really is a shame that an American sporting hero would lose such an instrument of her craft. She's had the shotgun many years and traveled all over the world with it. She is now afraid that she won't be able to compete as well with an unfamiliar gun.

"There's just no words to describe what the gun means to me." she said in a television interview clearly disturbed.

It's not often you'll see a story that has the words "shotgun" and "pick up truck" or "wedding" and not be able to rattle off a few dozen cheesy jokes. I can, but this is a sad story and I really feel empathy for her.

I can't imagine her pain and feelings of distraught.
 
Anyone who has ever had their parked vehicle broken into knows how violating it feels. It is an icky and unpleasant experience in the least, but to lose such a precious item that has been the key to her personal accolades and success must be devastating.

You don't hear incident of javelin throwers having their javelins stolen. NASCAR drivers don't get their cars stolen and taken to chop shops. Nobody shaves Brett Favre's stubble while he's sleeping. Athletes are creatures of comfort, routine and repetition. They specialize in doing things they way they need to feel on top of their game.

The closest thing in which I can think to relate this story is when Ruben Rivera stole Derek Jeter's glove, but it's not the same since Jeter doesn't really have much use for his glove anyway.

She's our modern day Annie Oakley. Here's hoping that an Olympic Skeet Shooting hero can find a happy ending. 2012 isn't that far away. With Rhode's consistent dominance in her sports there's no reason to believe she will stand on the podium again regardless of which shotgun is in her clutches. But I wouldn't want to hear B.B. King without "Lucille", watch Penn without Teller or see George W. make it through a day without his favorite "Veto" stamp...

Good Luck, Kim. I hope the thieves are found and your lifelong friend/shotgun is returned.