After chasing Olympic dream, Scherer ready for shot at real life
Former TCU shooter Sarah Scherer didn’t anticipate being disappointed when she overcame back surgery to return to the Olympics this year in Rio.
And despite two underwhelming performances in the 10-meter air rifle and 50-meter three-position events that fell short of her goal of wearing an Olympic medal, the former Horned Frog said Thursday she’s looking forward to life beyond training for the Games.
“There are things about this that could have been better,” Scherer said Thursday after finishing 33rd in the 40-person three-position qualifier, which featured 20 shots each from the kneeling, prone and standing positions. “But at the same time, you have to look at the big picture.”
Scherer, 25, finished seventh in the air rifle event in the 2012 Olympics in London. She had two surgeries in 2014 to repair three herniated disks in her back and retired from competitive shooting that year. But she came out of retirement last summer for a final shot at an Olympic medal.
Her post-surgery training schedule included up to seven hours a day of shooting, exercising and physical therapy routines to strengthen her back without aggravating her injuries. It was “all business,” Scherer said, but something wasn’t the same.
“When I made the team the second time, it wasn’t as much of a wow factor,” she said. “It was more like an ‘I’m ready to do this’ kind of factor.”
Signs that a Rio medal wasn’t in Scherer’s fate were apparent even before her first shot in the air rifle event Saturday. Scherer claims officials forced her to change the butt plate of her rifle, forcing her to hold the gun on her shoulder. Confused and affected by the adjustment, Scherer finished eighth, one place below her ranking four years ago.
“I was having to muscle the gun,” Scherer told the Star-Telegram on Saturday. “Optimally, you’re relaxed, and you can get all your muscles relaxed and so forth, so you can steady your hold. I couldn’t do that.”
The struggle continued in Scherer’s final event Thursday, where she missed the target on her first standing shot to effectively end her chance at making the top eight that qualify for the final. The 33rd-place finish was unexpected, she said.
“I put up a good fight today,” she said. “It didn’t go how I wanted, but it is what it is and I’m just going to press forward.”
But life after the Olympics doesn’t seem so bleak. Scherer, who is a registered dietitian and works in that capacity, said she hopes to continue pursuing ballroom dancing, a passion she first found on campus as a TCU student but hasn’t had time to pursue since then. She also hopes to continue shooting recreationally and one day rejoin USA Shooting as a coach.
“In the shooting sports, whether that’s something with pistols, something with shotguns, I just want something a little different,” she said. “But kind of still keeping up with that competitive edge. I love the competition, and that’s why I do this.”
First things first, Scherer has 10 days of vacation in the Olympic Village before participating in the Closing Ceremony. She would like to attend basketball, beach volleyball and rowing events.
Any tears will come later.
“I don’t think I’ve fully processed it at this point,” she said. “But it has been the greatest honor to represent my country again.”
This story was originally published August 11, 2016 at 8:14 PM with the headline "After chasing Olympic dream, Scherer ready for shot at real life."