VERO BEACH, Fla. — Derrick Mein is one of America's premiere trap shooters with an impressive resume of accomplishments.
"There were some nerves but most of that came from expectations," he said.
Still, a spot-on Team USA wasn't a done deal.
"I've been one of the best two guys here in the U.S. for the last three years," he said. "Winning the World Championships in 2022 definitely adds another level of pressure, and so you have those expectations, which definitely adds to the nerves."
How did he keep it together? Mein said he relied on his years of experience and looked to stay focused on the process for each individual target. The Kansas native hit the competition circuit to stay sharp.
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"I feel like it helps propel you into being ready for something like the Olympic games," he said. "You can practice till you're blue in the face but until you get out there and compete with what you practiced, you don't really know how it's going to work."
Mein is sponsored by Vero Beach Clay Shooting Sports. Murry Gerber is the owner.
"Derrick is a spectacular human being and he's representing our country now in the Olympics" he said. "He's humble, smart, strategic, great family man, and he just represents a lot of great core values that we appreciate in this sport."
Gerber is an avid shooter himself. He said Mein typically shoots sporting clay, but for the Olympics he's shooting what's called Olympic trap, which is a different discipline within the sport.
"He's an extremely good shooter and he just has the right temperament, and of course all the physical skills to make it," Gerber said.
For Mein, this will be his second Olympic games. But unlike Tokyo in 2021, he's looking to get the full Olympic experience.
"Tokyo was all COVID restricted and there were no fans in the stands. My family didn't get to go—didn't really get what I would call a true Olympic experience," he said. "This go around everything is back up and it's going to be full bore. So, I'm really looking forward to that."
Mein said he plans on trying to make the Olympic team or the 2028 games in Los Angeles.