The U.S. Paralympic Trials Part Two for shooting have concluded after a week of competition at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Feb. 2-10.
There are three trials total for the U.S. Paralympic Shooting Team before athletes will start to qualify for the Paralympic Games Paris 2024.
At this second trials competition, McKenna Geer, 2016 bronze Paralympic medalist, made a comeback into the sport of shooting just one year after giving birth to her first child. She competed in R4 10m Air Rifle Standing Mixed SH2, where she finished first, and in R5 10m Air Rifle Prone SH2, where she finished second.
Kevin Nguyen, also a new first time parent, shot impressive scores at the competition. On one relay of R3 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1 he shot a score of 623.4. Then on the final relay of R6 50m Rifle Prone Mixed SH1, he shot a score of 628.4. Nguyen, a 2020 Paralympian, placed first in both events.
Geer and Nguyen competed alongside a handful of Paralympians this past month to include Marco De La Rosa, Rio 2016, Taylor Farmer, Tokyo 2020, John Wayne Joss III, Tokyo 2020, Jazmin Almlie Ryan, Tokyo 2020, and YanXiao Gong, Tokyo 2020.
Gong is looking to qualify for his second Paralympic team. He saw a lot of success internationally in 2023. He is the reigning World Champion in P3 Mixed 25m Pistol SH1 and was a two-time medalist at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
The competition also saw emerging athletes, like Landon Ruggera, looking to earn a berth to their first Paralympic Games in Paris. Ruggera finished second in both R3 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1 and R6 50m Rifle Prone Mixed SH1.
View all scores from part two here: https://usashooting.org/app/uploads/2024/02/FINAL-RESULTS-Parlympic-Trials-Part-2.pdf
View the current overall rankings of the selection process here: https://usashooting.org/app/uploads/2024/02/Current-Paralympic-Rankings_2-11-24.xlsx
View photos of the competition here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/usashooting/albums/72177720314649152
The third U.S. Paralympic Trials for shooting will take place April 21-28 in Anniston and Talladega, Alabama. As of February 2024, athletes can earn Paris 2024 team selections in the following events where the U.S. has earned quota spots:
- Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH2: earned by Jazmin Almlie-Ryan at the 2022 WSPS Championships
- P3 Mixed 25m Pistol SH1: earned by YanXiao Gong at the 2023 WSPS Championship
- R6 Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH1: earned by John Joss at the 2023 WSPS Championship
- P3 Men’s Air Pistol SH1: earned by Marco De La Rosa at the 2023 Pan American Games
The U.S team will be competing in one more international competition before Paris 2024 in the hopes to earn national quotas in the remaining events.
Follow USA Shooting on social media to stay up to date on all competitions and results.
About USA Shooting
USA Shooting, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation was chartered by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the Olympic & Paralympic Shooting Sports in April 1995. The organization develops and implements programs to promote growth in the sport and serves as a sanctioning body for local and national competitions. Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center, USA Shooting has a full-time staff dedicated to our sport.
Read the full article here