I am an Olympian and high-performance coach with a career rooted in discipline, resilience, and results. I made history as the first female shooter to represent Venezuela at the Olympic Games, competing at the 2000 Sydney Olympics after earning silver at the 1999 Pan-American Games.
With multiple international medals—including three golds at the 2002 South American Games—I transitioned from elite competition into practical shooting, coaching, and education, helping athletes and professionals sharpen both technical skill and mental focus.
With a Bachelor’s in Psychology (Summa Cum Laude) and a Master’s in Sport & Performance Psychology, I specialize in the mental side of performance: overcoming doubt, managing stress, building resilience, and executing with precision when it matters most.
I am worldwide known for my participation in seasons four and five of the History Channel reality show Top Shot. I am the only female competitor to reach the individual portion of the competition (green shirts) and the only woman to compete in the “All-Stars” season in 2012.
I am the author of Troubleshooting: Mastering Your Pistol Marksmanship, which sells worldwide in both English and Spanish.
What I Help Clients Achieve:
– Greater confidence and emotional control under pressure
– Improved focus and decision-making
– Consistent competitive performance
– Stronger mental resilience
– Clear performance routines and mindset strategies
Whether working with competitive shooters, athletes, driven professionals, or the military and law enforcement, I focus on balanced performance—integrating mindset, emotional health, and personal values to help clients win in their sport, their careers, and their lives.
Sports
Olympic pistol shooting:
1996 – 2001 – Venezuela’s National Champion
1997 – Silver medal at the Bolivarian Games in Arequipa, Peru)
1998 – Silver medal at the Central-American Games in Maracaibo, Venezuela.
1998 – Gold medal at the South American Games in Cuenca, Ecuador.
1999 – Silver medal at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada.
2000 – Competed at the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
2000 – Gold medal at the South American Championship in Lima, Peru.
2001 – Gold at the Bolivarian Games in Ambato, Ecuador.
2002 – 3 gold medals at the South American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Professional
2024 – Present – Mental Performance coach serving clients in the civilian, corporate, and M&LE.
2010 – Present – Private Firearms instructor serving civilians, law enforcement officers, and military service members.
Highlights:
2012 – Provided training at the Coral Springs Police Department (Florida).
2013 – Provided training at the Federal Way Police Department (Washington).
2014 – Provided training at the Marine Corps Air Station (Yuma, Arizona).
2019 – Provided training at the FBI Firearms Training Unit (Quantico, VA).
2020 – Guest-lead instructor at the Pennsylvania State Police Academy (Hershey, PA).
2023 – Guest-support instructor at the Pennsylvania State Police Academy (Hershey, PA).
Academics
2023 – Bachelor of Science in Psychology
2025 – Master’s in Sport and Performance Psychology.
MY STORY
I grew up in the Central Occidental region of Venezuela, where the sky always captivated me with its beautiful red, orange, and yellow hues during every sunset. My mom was a high school teacher, while my dad worked as a machinist. For several years, we lived on my mom’s salary as my dad pursued his dream of building a machine shop from the ground up. Through this experience, he taught my siblings and me the true meaning of love, dedication, and resilience.
Shooting was not my first sport, nor did I ever expect it to become my career. As a child, I often said I wanted to be an astronaut, a model, or a dancer like Michael Jackson. I spent several years practicing swimming, ballet, and gymnastics, but I never found a true passion for any of them.
One day, my dad discovered that the local shooting range had a junior Olympic shooting team looking for new athletes. He immediately took my siblings and me to the range, where we were introduced to the fascinating and challenging disciplines of air and sport pistol shooting. The sport was more difficult than we had anticipated. However, I fell in love with shooting sports through constant training and the challenge of consistently hitting the elusive bullseye, which has a diameter of just one centimeter.
A Rocky Olympic Journey
After winning several medals at nationally ranked air pistol competitions, I earned my spot on the Venezuelan national shooting team. At that time, I was an unknown athlete who seemed to emerge from nowhere to achieve success and win medals.
The 1997 Bolivarian Games in Arequipa, Peru, was my first international competition. I felt excited and anxious about visiting a new country and being away from home, as this was my first time traveling out of state and out of the country. Despite this and many other challenges, I won a silver medal in the air pistol tournament, marking the beginning of my Olympic journey.
Winning this medal was an exhilarating experience. It helped me recognize my true potential for the first time as if it confirmed what I always knew—I loved the sport and was also good at it.
For the next five years, my life revolved around training. I practiced from Tuesday to Friday for about four to five hours each day after school (and later, college), and I trained in the mornings on Saturdays and Sundays. Mondays were my only days off since the range was closed. My constant training, dedication, and sacrifices paid off. I won several national titles and silver medals at the 1998 South American Games in Cuenca, Ecuador, and the 1998 Central American Games in Maracaibo, Venezuela.
In 1999, I was selected as one of the two athletes to compete at the Winnipeg Pan American Games of the same year. However, there was an internal conflict with a male shooter (who did not qualify), which inspired some to suggest replacing me with the male shooter in question, even though I had earned my spot to represent the country during the classificatory competitions.
My parents’ support played a crucial role in helping me navigate my challenges. Additionally, I was surrounded by principled leaders who recognized my achievements and supported my—earned—spot to represent Venezuela at the Panamerican Games. I felt extremely nervous, carrying a heavy weight on my shoulders during the competition, fearing that I would disappoint everyone who had supported me if I did not perform well. After qualifying for the finals in second place, I stepped outside the venue to warm up in the sun because I was uncontrollably shivering—due to the circumstances, I felt twice as much pressure compared to other competitions. I took a moment to pray and meditate briefly to thank God for the opportunity and support, bring forth positive thoughts, and focus on the task at hand.
I went back inside with a clear mind, knowing all I needed to worry about was what I needed to do. Every thought about winning, losing, and people’s opinions became irrelevant, giving me the peace I needed to perform. That afternoon, I won the silver medal, making history as the first female Venezuelan shooter to win a silver medal and earn an Olympic plaza at the Panamerican Games.
In 2000, I fulfilled my dream of joining the Olympic team to participate in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, an extraordinary event that only a tiny percentage of people experience. Unfortunately, the issues I faced before and during the 1999 Pan-American Games resurfaced, and this time, they were worse. The father of the male athlete who did not qualify for the PanAm games argued that his son, a talented shooter, sued the Venezuelan Shooting Federation (VSF) and many of its members. He wanted the court to remove me from the team and include his son, claiming he deserved my spot—even though he had lost to the other male shooter who qualified for the Games. The lawyer argued that VSF should send two male shooters instead of including a male and a female athlete.
I was unsure how to handle the situation. As a frustrated and somewhat scared teenager, I feared losing my hard-earned spot to compete in the Olympics. Was that even possible? I asked myself this question multiple times. Although I had been on the team for over two years, I had never considered the “politics” often involved in sports or how to navigate situations that required me to advocate for myself. Finally, just days before departing for the Olympic Games, the Venezuelan Supreme Court dismissed the case. I felt an immense sense of relief, which is difficult to explain given the conscious and subconscious mental pressure I had endured throughout the ordeal.
I competed in the Sydney 2000 Olympics, becoming the first female Venezuelan shooter in history to achieve this milestone. Although I did not win an Olympic medal, the experience of being an Olympian ignited my passion for training and competition. After that, I began winning gold medals at international events. These successes motivated me to train even harder and inspired me to dream of participating in the 2004 Athens Olympics. However, life took a different turn for me. I retired from Olympic shooting after competing in the 2002 South American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (with shooting events held in Resende), where I won three gold medals. This decision was not easy; it was driven by the instability and turmoil in my home country, which ultimately led me to pursue a life in a country I admired: the United States.
In 1998, Venezuelans said yes to what Hugo Chavez called the “socialism of the 21st Century.” His new form of socialism was supposed to be better than anything that had been tried before. It was supposed to bring real freedom and voice to the people. However, the consequences of this ideology painted a different reality that affected Venezuelans’ lives.
Chavez’s executive orders and other decisions began to, directly and indirectly, destroy many large corporations, forcing others to flee the country. Consequently, this affected medium-sized and small businesses and the Venezuelan people he said he was fighting for. Moreover, he pushed for tighter gun control measures that contributed to the crime rate increase. By 2001, Venezuela was grappling with political instability and economic turmoil. The limited opportunities for personal and professional growth were so great that not even a young person like myself could ignore them.
Cuban friends often expressed concerns about Chávez. They talked about his negative impact on the nation and the dark future looming over what was once a prosperous country. Listening to them made me worried and anxious about Venezuela’s future. Pursuing dreams under these conditions was as futile as building a house on sand.
I did not follow through with moving to the United States in the year 2000, hoping that Venezuela would not turn into a failed state like Cuba. Unfortunately, reality hit me like a tornado without warning. Hugo Chávez emerged empowered to establish his full version of socialism in 2002, making me make a life-changing decision. In September 2002, my flight left from the Maiquetía International Airport in Caracas to Miami, Florida, leaving behind loved ones, my aspirations of becoming a civil engineer, and my dream of competing in the 2004 Olympic Games. Looking out the window, I tried to convince myself I had made the right decision, thinking there is no glory or happiness without freedom.
Becoming an Immigrant
Leaving my family, my home, and my dreams to participate in another Olympic Games was difficult. Most people I knew thought I was crazy and making a mistake. To be honest, I often wondered if they were right. However, talking to a former Venezuelan tennis player I met at the 2000 Olympic Games in Miami gave me hope that I was on the right track. I reached out to her immigration lawyer, applied for an extraordinary ability visa, and sought a green card. I never would have imagined that my dedication and hard work as an athlete would play such a significant role in my life. A year later, I received the approval notice for my O-1A visa and the wonderful news that I was also approved to become a permanent resident.
Being an immigrant was not easy, but it often represents the best option for those seeking a better life, like me. I was a young woman with big dreams that seemed impossible to achieve or even pursue under a socialist regime that favored politics and ideology over merit and ability. However, I knew that the United States was offering me an opportunity, much like someone opening their door to welcome me in. I was determined to prove that I am a good person who can contribute positively to society. There was no doubt that I wanted to stay, but even more importantly, I wanted to become a law-abiding citizen who makes a difference. positively contributes to society.
More on Gabby’s story soon!
SOcialism & freedom