World Shooting Championships: Meet Jamie Beyerle
Meet Jamie Beyerle, the top contender for the United States in the Women's 50m Rifle 3 Position event at the World Shooting Championships. Beyerle is currently ranked second in the world in Women's 50m Rifle 3 Position. She brought home a gold medal in her specialty event from the Fort Benning World Cup and a silver medal from World Cup Sydney. Beyerle was also a 2008 Olympian--she finished fourth in Women's 10m Air Rifle and fifth in Women's 50m Rifle 3 Position. Let's not forget the eight (a mixture of air and smallbore) national titles that Beyerle won in the past eight years (she did not compete at nationals in 2010).
This talented athlete, however, is not without her own struggles and obstacles. Beyerle had to overcome hip surgery in December 2007 to recover and make the 2008 Olympic team. She advises junior shooters to, "Enjoy what you are doing, even though there are tough times...the hard times are just as helpful, if not more helpful than the easy times."
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World Shooting Championships: Meet Matt Emmons
Meet Matt Emmons...although, this rifle shooter certainly needs no introduction. Emmons is a member of the 2010 World Shooting Championships Rifle Team and the current top-ranked Men's 50m Rifle 3 Position athlete. Not to mention, he is also a top-ten shooter in Men's 50m Rifle Prone. In addition to those two events, Emmons will also be shooting the Men's 10m Air Rifle event in Munich. His air competition will take place tomorrow and concludes on Wednesday, August 4th with the Men's 50m Rifle 3 Position event.
Not only is he currently one of the world's top rifle shooters, Emmons also holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and an MBA from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Like many talented rifle athletes, during his time at UAF, Emmons was a member of the Nanooks rifle team. He advises junior shooters to, "Make sure that you love what you do. Hard days of training don't seem so hard when you love it. After that, learn as much as you possibly can about all aspects of your sport. Be a student of it. Lastly, be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day and shooting has a lot to do with experience, which simply takes time." Wise words from a three-time World Cup gold medalist in Men's 50m Rifle 3 Position. Did I mention that all three gold medals were from the World Cup competitions he attended in 2010?
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IPC World Shooting Championships Wrap Up
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Shooting Championships recently ended in Zagreb, Croatia, with a strong showing from the United States Paralympic Shooting Team. The team is comprised of Mike Dickey, Danielle Fong, Eric Hollen, and Josh Olson. In the Mixed R6 event (50m Rifle Prone SH1), Fong and Olson headed into the final seeded third and sixth, respectively. Fong fired a match score of 587 with 101 points in the final for a fifth place finish. Olson had a match score of 585 and marked 102.9 points in the final to retain his sixth place standing. Olson’s score was especially impressive considering the difficult conditions on the far right end of the firing line. No one within 10 firing points of Olson, including the Air Rifle Prone Gold Medalist squadded right beside him, made the final. Congratulations to Fong, as she set a new personal record in the prone event.
In Men’s P1 (10m Air Pistol SH1), Eric Hollen scored 559 points to finish 14th in a field of 57 competitors. In the closing ceremony, Hollen was awarded the prestigious “Fair Play Award” for the exceptional sportsmanship he demonstrated during his P4 Free Pistol Match. Hollen accidently fired a shot just barely above his target while working on early trigger pressure during the approach. He immediately notified the Range Officer to report the miss since no one else saw it. This happened twice as he struggled with his trigger throughout the match. While both misses cost him a twenty point deduction, Hollen said, “I knew it was the right thing to do.” His sportsmanship and integrity especially impressed the match staff. USA Shooting is proud of Hollen for not only doing the right thing, but bringing honor to his team and country.
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