World Cup USA Day 4 -- Medals elude USA pistol shooters

[USAS & USAMU]

By Najasila Campbell
USA Shooting

FORT BENNING, Ga. - He is the No. 1 shooter in the world. He holds the world record. He is followed by throngs of star-gazing spectators. He is Ralf Schumann of Germany, and he is the latest World Cup champion in Men's Rapid Fire Pistol. Shooting an overall total of
788.8 (202.8 finals), Schumann beat the record he set at the World Cup Milan in 2006 by 1.1 points.

China had two athletes on the podium in the Men's Rapid Fire event. Penghui Zhang and Feng Ding finished second and third, respectively. Zhang shot for 787.0 with a finals shoot of 201.0, while Ding safely finished more than three points ahead of the fourth place shooter with a 781.5 (199.5 finals).

Team USA's Staff Sgt. Keith Sanderson, formerly of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, entered the second half of the competition sitting in fifth place. A string of weak shots left him with a 565 and 31st in the field. In three strings he shot 95, 89 and a 91, for a total of 275 in the second half. In comparison, his first half was a 290.

Staff Sgt. John C. Ennis of the Army Marksmanship Unit fired a
286 in his first half, and a 278 in the second for a total of 562 to finish in 32nd place. Long-time veteran of the U.S. Team, John McNally, formerly of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, shot a 556 for 38th place.

Coming to Phillips Range today will be Women's 25-Meter Sport Pistol. Precision shots will be fired beginning at 8 a.m., and rapid fire shots will begin at 1 p.m. Finals kick off at 4:30 p.m. and awards will immediately follow.

Men's 50-Meter Free Pistol will also begin today with the elimination rounds at 1 p.m.

China leads the World Cup with eight medals followed by Germany with four; Russia has three, the USA has two, and the Czech Republic, Poland, Belarus and Ukraine all have one each. To access competition results, photos and daily updates visit www.usashooting.org.

The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit is hosting the International Shooting Sport Federation Rifle and Pistol World Cup USA through April 7 at the USAMU ranges off Dixie Road by USA Shooting, the national governing body for Olympic shooting sports.

Countries that are participating in the World Cup USA include:
Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Surinam, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, United States, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and the Virgin Islands.

Media are invited to cover the World Cup but should coordinate with the Fort Benning Public Affairs Office before coming to post.

The schedule of events is as follows:
Today: Women's Sport Pistol competitions, finals and awards.
April 7: Men's Free Pistol and Free Rifle Prone competitions, finals and awards; Closing Ceremony.

For more information on the World Cup, call the USAMU Public Affairs Office at (706) 545-5436 or e-mail paula.pagan@usaac.army.mil.

(Formed in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to raise the standards of marksmanship throughout the U.S. Army, the Army Marksmanship Unit is assigned to the Accessions Support Brigade of the U.S. Army Accessions Command. The Marksmanship Unit trains its Soldiers to win competitions and enhances combat readiness through train-the-trainer clinics, research and development. For more information on the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, contact the Public Affairs Office at (706) 545-5436, paula.pagan@usaac.army.mil or http://www.usaac.army.mil/amu/. USA Shooting is recognized by the U.S.
Olympic Committee and the International Shooting Sport Federation as the national governing body for the Olympic and international shooting sports in the United States. For more information on USA Shooting, contact Public Relations Manager Najasila Campbell at (719) 866-4896 or
http://www.usashooting.com.)