olympic team for shooting member of the national honor society and also played varsity soccer,...

16 USA Shooting News | Olympic Preview Issue 2012

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Pantone 289 Pantone 289 - CMYKC-100 M-60 Y-0 K-56


O LY M P I C T E A M F O R S H O O T I N G

Men’s 50m Rifle Prone

Men’s 50m 3-position Rifle

Women’s 50m 3-position Rifle

Men’s 10m Air Rifle

Women’s 10m Air Rifle

Olympic Preview Issue 2012 | USA Shooting News 17

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RIFLE Preview

RiflePreview

It’s been three Olympic Games since USA Shooting athletes haven’t earned a medal in rifle shooting and don’t expect that trend to end this time around in London. Eight USA rifle ath-letes are poised to test their marksmanship skills against the world’s best in the five air and smallbore (.22 caliber) events. Given the results since Beijing that include 28 medals earned by the six of the eight Olympic nominees in World Cup and World Cup Finals, expectations will be high.

“The top men and women fought it out until the very end for a spot on the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team,” said National Rifle Coach Major Dave Johnson. Throughout this last quad we have seen many world-class performances from both the Olympic newcomers and the veterans and we’re anxious to see how they stand up and compete in London. They have all the talent in the world and have put in the work needed to withstand the pressure.”

Experience and veteran savvy trumps all in Olympic shooting and Team USA has plenty of it with seven combined Olympic Games between them. Leading the charge is Matt Emmons who has 20 World Cup medals in his signature event (three-posi-tion), but no Olympic medal to show for it after final shot heart-breaks in each of the last two Olympic Games. Armed with confidence, uncanny knowledge and an unprecedented work ethic, he has the tools necessary to reverse fate in London but only if the ailments and health issues that have plagued him since 2010 subside. Emmons, a two-time Olympic medalist in Prone, won’t shoot that event this time around having qualified in Air Rifle and Three-Position.

In Beijing, Jamie Gray (formerly Beyerle) missed a medal in both Air Rifle and Three-Position by 1.8 points in total. Over the 120 shots fired, that’s the equivalent of 1/2” or the size of a quarter between medal and no medal. She’s back again and better than ever having earned eight World Cup medals since her first Olympic experience.

The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) will be well-represent-ed with three shooters hailing from the Ft. Benning Army base including three-time Olympian Jason Parker, a three-position shooter. After a 16-year-absence from Olympic competition, Eric Uptagrafft is set for an Olympic return and will compete in the Prone event alongside his AMU teammate and Olym-pic rookie Michael McPhail. This trio has secured 12 World Cup medals since 2008.

The junior and collegiate ranks are well represented with the additions of first-time Olympians Sarah Scherer (Air), Amanda Fur-rer (Three-position) and Jonathan Hall (Air). Among this group, Scherer is the lone World Cup medalist having earned a victory in her first appearance in 2010. Furrer and Hall showcased their rapid rise in the rifle ranks with standout performances against intense competition at the Olympic Team Trials. All three are a testament to the success of USA Shooting’s Junior Olympic program having won multiple titles between them and to the strength of NCAA collegiate shooting program with those multiple titles and top performances as well.

Primed For Success

2008 Olympians Matt Emmons (L)

and Jamie Gray (R) honed their

skills at the University of Alaska

Fairbanks. During their time with

the Nanooks, the UAF Rifle Team

won several National Champion-

ship titles and became a power-

house in the NCAA. This talented

duo, known separately for their

3-position rifle skills, will be top

contenders in London.

Photo Tom Kimmell


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O LY M P I C T E A M

Jamie Gray Women’s 10m Air Rifle | Women’s 50m Rifle Three Position

Date of Birth: 5/26/1984

hometown: Lebanon, Pa. birthplace: Lebanon, Pa.

firearm: Anschutz

@Grayolympics

Competition Highlights– 2008 Olympian, 4th Place (Air), 5th Place (3 position)– 2003 Pan American Games, Gold Medalist (3 Position and Air)– 2002 World Championship, Junior Silver Medalist (3 Position)– Three-Time World Cup Final medalist, 2010 (Bronze/Air), 2010

(gold/3-postiion), 2009 (bronze/3-position)– Six-time World Cup medalist

Personal

Jamie began shooting in a BB gun program at

the age of 8. As a high school student, she was

a member of the National Honor Society and also

played varsity soccer, basketball and softball. Ja-

mie graduated from the University of Alaska Fair-

banks and shot for its nationally-renowned rifle

team. She is currently the technical coach for the

Columbus State University Rifle Team. Formerly

Jamie Beyerle, she married Hank Gray in 2011,

assuming the name of her husband, who is part of

the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit. Her great uncle,

Lon Keller, painted the Mickey Mantle painting in

the Baseball Hall of Fame, and her family has a

copy of it hanging in the house.

Photo Tom

Kim

mell


Sarah Scherer Women’s 10m Air Rifle


hometown: Woburn, Mass.

birthplace: Salt Lake City, Utah.

firearm: Feinwerkbau

Competition Highlights– Five-time National Junior Olympic Championships

medalist– 2011 World Cup Changwon, Gold Medalist (Air)– 2010 Junior World Championship, Silver Medalist

(3-Position)– Two-time individual NCAA smallbore rifle champion

and two-time NCAA team rifle champion

Personal

Sarah is currently attending and competing for

Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas.

She’s pursuing a degree in Nutrition. As a National

Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion,

she visited the White House and met President

Obama. Her brother, Stephen, was a 2008 rifle

Olympian. Her hobbies include church ministries,

clay crafts and Latin ballroom dancing. Sarah is

related to Daniel Boone and Charles Spurgeon.

Career goal is to work internationally in under-

served countries and possibly start a non-profit

fighting hunger and other related social and med-

ical issues. Lists Carl Lewis as her favorite athlete.

The three people she’d invite to dinner: Leonardo

Da Vinci, Audrey Hepburn, Mother Teresa.


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O LY M P I C T E A MPhoto D

an Shirey


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Matt Emmons Men’s 10m Air Rifle | Men’s 50m Rifle Three Position


hometown: Browns Mills, N.J. birthplace: Mt. Holly, N.J.

firearm: Anschutz (smallbore) and Walther (air)

Competition Highlights– 2008 Olympic silver medalist (prone)– 2004 Olympic gold medalist (prone)– 2010 World Championships bronze medalist (prone)– Five-time World Cup Final gold medalist – 20-plus World Cup medals

Personal

Matt Emmons knows too well what it is like to let a gold medal

slip out of his hands. In Athens, he was in position to claim

the 50m rifle three position gold medal with a massive lead

over his competition. But when he fired his last shot, every-

thing went wrong. Emmons accidentally shot at the wrong

target and registered a score of zero. Then in 2008, he pulled

the trigger too early in the same event, the 50m rifle three

position event, registering an unimaginably low score of 4.4

and dropping from first to fourth.

After shooting the wrong target in Athens, Emmons went to a

beer garden near the range. Before he knew it, he had a visitor

in Katerina Kurkova, a shooter for the Czech Republic. The two

chatted, hit it off and then didn’t see each other for a

while. But they stayed in touch and eventually they

were married in the summer of 2007. Katerina

now uses Emmons’ last name and still shoots for

the Czech Republic. She won bronze in the 10m air

rifle in Athens, gold in the same event in Beijing and sil-

ver in the 50m rifle three position in Beijing. Matt and

Katy welcomed their first

child, Julie (pronounced

“Yulia” in Czech) Jamie

Emmons on April 2, 2009.

Photo N

BC

Olym

pics


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Jonathan Hall Men’s 10m Air Rifle


hometown: Carrollton, Ga. birthplace: Birmingham, Ala.

firearm: Anschutz

@jondh3188

Competition Highlights– 2011 Pan American Games, Silver Medalist– Two-time National Champion (Air)– 2010 NCAA National Champion

Personal

In order to keep up with the boys in the neighbor-

hood, Jonathan asked his parents for a BB gun.

Jonathan first made the National Development

Team as a 15-year-old. He is currently a student

at Columbus State University studying business.

He advises young shooters to “stick to your goals

and watch out for distractions!” Jonathan and his

brothers are all competitive shooters. He loves his

mom’s home cooking. All four Hall brothers--James,

Joseph, Jonathan and Jacob--are involved in the

shooting sports. Jonathan enjoys working on cars

and rebuilding motorcycles. He even built his first

motorcycle at the age of 16! Jonathan would invite

Jesus Christ, Carroll Shelby and Theodore Roosevelt

to dinner. Cites “The Patriot” as his favorite movie.

Pho

to D

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hire

yPhoto N

BC

Olym

pics


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Amanda Furrer Women’s 50M Rifle three position


hometown: Spokane, Wash. birthplace: Spokane, Wash.

firearm: Anschutz

@Amanda_Furrer

Competition Highlights– 2011 National Championships, Bronze Medal– 2012 National Championships, Gold Medal– 2010 World Championships, Team Gold Medal, Team World Record– Two-time Junior Olympic Championship medalist (2009, 2008) – 2007 Pan American Games, Bronze Medal

Personal

Amanda first started shooting at 11 years old as member of the

Spokane Junior Rifle Team. Her sister Lauren got into the shooting sports

and Amanda wanted to be just like her, so she started shooting too.

Amanda claims to have been horrible when she first started and shot up

the garage doors because she couldn’t hit the target. Shooting is a family

sport and all compete and shoot guns together. Furrer’s dad shoots tacti-

cal matches and her mom shoots pistols. She qualified for the national

team as a member of the 2007 Pan American Team at the age of 16. She

is a student in The Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University

majoring in Finance and also competes on the Rifle Team. When she is

not training, Amanda enjoys doing anything outdoors and spending time

with friends and family.

Her grandma (Dorothea Morrison) passed away during her freshman of

college. A week before she passed, Amanda had sent her a letter making

sure she knew how much she loved her and told her she would go to the

Olympics, and that she was going to do it for her. “I felt like she was with

me through my Olympic try-outs. At the awards ceremony for my Olympic

team nomination my mom gave me a necklace that holds her ashes… so I

knew she had been watching over me. It was a special moment.”

Phot

o D

an S

hire

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Jason Parker Men’s 50m Rifle Three Position


hometown: Omaha, Neb. birthplace: Omaha, Neb.

firearm: Anschutz

Competition Highlights– Three-time Olympian (2000, 2004, 2008)– 2008 Olympic Games, 22nd Place (3 Position);

23rd Place (Air)– 2004 Olympic Games, 8th Place (Air)– 2000 Olympic Games, 5th Place (Air)– Five-time Pan American Games Medalist (2003,

2007, 2011)– 2002 World Championship, Gold Medalist (Air),

Team Bronze (Air)– 17-time National Championship medalist– 8-time World Cup Medalist

Personal

Sergeant First Class Jason Parker began

shooting in 1988. In 1992, he graduated

from Bryan High School in Omaha, Neb.

He graduated from Xavier University in 1996

and majored in Psychology. Jason then joined

the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit in 1997.

Jason’s hobbies include hunting, fishing and

competing in triathlons. He also enjoys soccer

and golf. Jason and his wife, Andrea, have two

sons, Tommy and Wyatt.


Photo Tom Kim

mell


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Eric Uptagrafft Men’s 50m Rifle Prone


hometown: Phenix City, Ala. birthplace: Spokane, Wash.

firearm: Uptagrafft

Competition Highlights– 1996 Olympian (30th place Prone)– 2003 Pan American Games,

Silver Medalist (3-Position)– 2002 World Championship,

Silver Medalist (3-Position)– Three-time World Cup Final medalist

in Prone (2011, 2005, 2003)– Seven-time World Cup Medalist

Personal

Sergeant First Class Eric Uptagrafft began his

decorated shooting career when he was just 11

years old. He joined the Foresteen Jr. Rifle Club in Spo-

kane, Wash., where his coach, Bill Havercroft, put him on the right

path. In 1993, Eric made the National Development Team and just two

years later, he made the National Team. In 1995, Eric graduated from

West Virginia University Suma Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in

Aerospace Engineering. Eric has been a member of the National Team

for nearly 20 years. Eric is married to 2012 Olympian (pistol) Sandra

Uptagrafft. As part of the Navy Reserves, Eric was deployed to Kuwait

in January of 2007 for seven months. Eric is currently a member of the

U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit. In the summer of 2011, Eric deployed to

Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Photo D


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Michael McPhail Men’s 50m Rifle Prone


hometown: Darlington, Wis. birthplace: Platteville, Wis.

firearm: Anschutz

Competition Highlights– Has won five World Cup medals since 2009

including recent 2012 World Cup London, Bronze Medalist

– 2011 Pan American Games, Gold Medalist– 2007 Pan American Games, Silver Medalist

(Prone), 4th Place (3 Position)

Personal

Staff Sergeant Michael McPhail

started shooting at age 16. He

attended the University of

Wisconsin at Oshkosh,

and is currently stationed

at Fort Benning, Ga. as part

of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit. In

his spare time, Michael enjoys bird hunting,

fishing and boating with his wife (Kari) and

daughter (Addison).


Photo D

an Shirey

olympic team for shooting member of the national honor society and also played varsity soccer,...

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