FT. BENNING, Ga. (May 19, 2008) – Jason Parker (Omaha, Neb.) and Keith Sanderson (San Antonio, Texas) were named to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team today after the conclusion of the Men’s 3-Position Rifle and Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol events at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Shooting (Smallbore).
After holding the lead throughout the three days of the Men’s 3-Position Rifle competition, two-time Olympian and U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) member Parker finished on top with an overall score of 3709.5 points to earn his second spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team. Parker will represent the U.S. in both Men’s 3-Position Rifle and Men’s Air Rifle at the Olympic Games in Beijing this August.
Parker will join 2004 Olympian Matt Emmons (Browns Mills, N.J.) on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team in Men’s 3-Position. Emmons has already secured two Olympic team spots, both in 3-Position Rifle and Prone Rifle
Parker’s USAMU teammate, two-time Olympian and 2004 silver medalist in Men’s 3-Position Mike Anti (Winterville, N.C.), finished in second place with 3701.3. USAMU members Michael McPhail (Darlington, Wis.), 1996 Olympian Eric Uptagrafft (Spokane, Wash.) and Hank Gray (Belgrade, Mont.) finished in the third, fourth and fifth spots with total scores of 3687.3, 3684.2 and 3683.5 respectively. Joe Hein (Lansing, Mich.) ended the competition in sixth place with 3678.5, while USAMU members Shane Barnhart (Ashley, Ohio) and 1996 Olympian Rob Harbison (State College, Pa.) finished in seventh and eighth places with 3676.0 and 3673.4.
Keith Sanderson (San Antonio, Texas), the 2007 World Cup Munich bronze medalist and Olympic quota slot winner in Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol, earned his first berth to the U.S. Olympic Team today, after finishing the Rapid Fire competition in first place with a total score of 2129.5 points.
“I am very excited about making the team, but I have a lot of work ahead of me,” said Sanderson. “I shot pretty good finals here, so I accomplished a lot of my goals, but I still have a lot to do to prepare for Beijing to give myself the highest likelihood of success. I want to win a gold medal at the Games and I am pretty confident that I will be ready.”
USAMU member John Ennis (Simi Valley, Calif.) finished in second place in Men’s Rapid Fire with a total score of 2119.0 points. Ennis’s USAMU teammate Brad Balsley (Uniontown, Pa.) finished in the third spot with 2110.5. Five-time Olympian John McNally (Heath, Texas) took fourth place with 2102.7 points, while John Bickar (Canton, Ohio) and USAMU member James Ruiz (Dublin, Calif.) finished in fifth and sixth places with 2100.6 and 2049.6 points respectively.
Over 170 top rifle and pistol shooters from around the United States are competing for spots on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Shooting (Smallbore) May 12-22 at Ft. Benning's International Shooting Complex in Columbus, Ga., home of the USAMU. The U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Shooting is a collaborative partnership between the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and USA Shooting.
In smallbore rifle, there is one U.S. Olympic team spot available for Men's Prone and Men's 3-Position (Matt Emmons has already secured a spot in both Prone and 3P) and there are two spots available in Women's 3-Position. In pistol, there are two U.S. Olympic team spots available for Men's Free Pistol and one spot in Men's Rapid Fire Pistol. There are two spots for Women's Sport Pistol.
The rifle/pistol athletes will be selected to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team based on a combination of the three days of match scores, plus each athlete’s top two finals scores. The USOC has final approval of all U.S. Olympic Team members.
The 2008 U.S. Olympic Team members in Men’s Prone Rifle, Women’s Sport Pistol and Men’s Free Pistol were selected on May 15 with two-time Olympian and 2004 silver medalist Mike Anti securing a spot on his fourth consecutive U.S. Olympic Team in Men’s Prone. Anti will join Matt Emmons, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist in Men’s Prone, on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team. In Women’s Sport Pistol, three-time Olympian Beki Snyder (Colorado Springs, Colo.) earned her second spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team. Snyder will represent the U.S. in both Women’s Sport Pistol and Women’s Air Pistol at the Beijing Olympic Games. Fifty-six year old three-time Olympian Libby Callahan (Columbia, S.C.) landed a spot on her fourth U.S. Olympic Team in Women’s Sport Pistol. In Men’s Free Pistol, 2004 Olympian Jason Turner (Rochester, N.Y.) qualified for his second consecutive U.S. Olympic Team, along with two-time Olympian Daryl Szarenski (Saginaw, Mich.), who will represent the U.S. on his third Olympic team. Turner will compete in both Free Pistol and Air Pistol at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, having previously qualified for a Spot in Men’s Air Pistol.
The U.S. earned a total of seven 2008 Olympic quota slots for pistol (women’s air – 1, men’s air – 1, men’s free – 2, women’s sport – 2 and men’s rapid fire – 1). A slot equals a person, so because Beki Snyder and Jason Turner already qualified in Air Pistol, and are now doubling in Sport Pistol and Free Pistol respectively, Brenda Shinn and Brian Beaman, who were the second place finishers at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Airgun, have now qualified for spots on the U.S. Olympic Team in Air Pistol. There will be seven total people competing in pistol at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
For complete U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Shooting (Smallbore) results, please visit www.usashooting.org.
2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Shooting (Smallbore) Competition Schedule
Tuesday, May 20
Women’s 3-Position Rifle match and finals
Wednesday, May 21
Women’s 3-Position Rifle match and finals
Thursday, May 22 (Selection of Olympic Team members for Women’s 3-Position Rifle)
Women’s 3-Position Rifle match, finals and awards
Jason Parker, Keith Sanderson Qualify for 2008 Olympic Team
Moderators: pilkguns, m1963, David Levene, Spencer, Richard H