Georgian shooter qualifies for record 9th Olympics

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgian shooter Nino Salukvadze is expected to become the first woman to compete at nine Olympics after qualifying for next year’s competition.

The 50-year-old Salukvadze has been at every Summer Olympics since 1988, winning gold, silver and bronze medals along the way. In 2016, she became the first mother to be on the same Olympic team as her son.

The International Sports Shooting Federation says Salukvadze secured qualification after finishing fifth in the 10-meter air pistol at a World Cup event in Beijing.

Salukvadze’s ninth Olympics would pull her ahead of Canadian rower Lesley Thompson and Italian-German canoeist Josefa Idem Guerrini.

Among men, show jumper Ian Millar holds the record with 10 Olympic appearances for Canada between 1972 and 2012.