China sweeps World Cup Day 1

[USAMU]

FORT BENNING, Ga. - When the first Gold, Silver and Bronze medals of the 2005 World Cup USA were awarded today at Hook Range, three flags of China flew above the medal stand.

Li Du, Yinghui Zhao and Liuxi Wu of China took first second and third place respectively in the Women’s Air Rifle competition. Du and Wu were tied going into the final, each with a score of 398 points out of a possible 400 and Zhao shot the best qualification score with a 399. Du shot a 104, which was the highest finals score, Zhao fired a 103 and Wu a 103.8 out of a possible 109 in the final; this put Wu in third place for the Bronze Medal with a total score of 501.8 and left Du and Zhao tied for first place with a score of 502. Du won the Gold Medal after winning the shoot-off in which she shot a 10.6 and Zhao got a 10.4.

Out of the 58 competitors, USA shooters Sarah Blakeslee of Vancouver, Wash., finished in 13th place with a score of 394, Emily Caruso of Colorado Springs, Colo., was 28th with a 392 and Elizabeth Tidmore of Decatur, Ga., got 40th place with a 388.

Men’s Free Pistol finals will be Tuesday at noon at Pool Outdoor Range and the awards ceremony is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Hook Range. Sixty-seven shooters are competing in the Free Pistol matches including two-time Olympian Sgt. 1st Class Daryl Szarenski and Sgt. John C. Ennis, both of the USAMU, and Jason Turner of Colorado Springs, John Zurek of Phoenix, Ariz., and Brian Beaman of Selby, S.D.

More than 400 world-class shooters from 51 countries are competing in the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup USA, which kicked off May 6. The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit is hosting the World Cup USA through May 15 and the competition will be conducted by USA Shooting, the U.S. Olympic governing body for the Olympic shooting sports and those governed by the ISSF.

Every year, qualified shooters of each of the Olympic shooting disciplines participate in four World Cups. Not only can shooters win medals and set world records at the World Cups, but they can also win quota slots for their countries to compete in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

The revised competition schedule for the World Cup USA is as follows:
May 10

9 to 11 a.m. - Men’s Free Pistol matches at Pool Outdoor Range.
9 a.m. to noon - Women’s Sport Pistol matches at Phillips Range.
Noon - Men’s Free Pistol Final at Pool Outdoor Range.
1:30 p.m. - Men’s Free Pistol awards ceremony at Hook Range.
1:30 to 4:30 p.m. - Men’s Free Rifle Prone matches at Pool Outdoor Range.
May 11

9 to 10:15 a.m. - Men’s Free Rifle Prone matches at Pool Outdoor Range.
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Men’s Air Pistol matches at Pool Indoor Range.
9 a.m. to noon - Women’s Sport Pistol matches at Phillips Range.
11:15 a.m. - Men’s Free Rifle Prone final at Pool Outdoor Range.
12:15 to 5:15 p.m. - Women’s Sport Rifle matches at Pool Outdoor Range.
1 p.m. - Women’s Sport Pistol final at Phillips Range.
2 p.m. - Men’s Air Pistol final at Pool Indoor Range.
3 p.m. - Men’s Free Rifle Prone, Men’s Air Pistol and Women’s Sport Pistol award ceremonies at Hook Range.
May 12

9 to 11:15 a.m. - Women’s Sport Rifle matches at Pool Outdoor Range.
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Men’s Air Rifle matches at Pool Indoor Range.
12:15 p.m. - Women’s Sport Rifle final at Pool Outdoor Range.
2 p.m. - Men’s Air Rifle final at Pool Indoor Range.
3 p.m. - Women’s Sport Rifle and Men’s Air Rifle award ceremonies at Hook Range.
May 13

9 to 10:15 a.m. - Women’s Air Pistol matches at Pool Indoor Range.
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. - Men’s Three Position Free Rifle matches at Pool Outdoor Range.
9 a.m. to 2 p.m. - Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol matches at Phillips Range.
1:15 a .m. - Women’s Air Pistol final at Pool Indoor Range.
1 p.m. - Women’s Air Pistol award ceremony at Hook Range.
May 14

9 a.m. to noon - Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol matches at Phillips Range.
9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Men’s Three Position Free Rifle matches at Pool Outdoor Range.
2:15 p.m. - Men’s Three Position Free Rifle final at Pool Outdoor Range.
1 p.m. - Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol final at Phillips Range.
3:30 p.m. - Men’s Three Position Free Rifle and Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol award ceremonies at Hook Range.
May 15
Delegations depart.
Media are invited to cover the competition but should coordinate with the Public Affairs Office before coming to post. Call (706) 545-5436 or e-mail paula.pagan@usarec.army.mil <mailto:paula.pagan@usarec.army.mil> for more information.

(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 Fort Knox, Ky., which is under U.S. Army Accessions Command, of Fort Monroe, Va. Accessions Command is charged with overseeing recruiting and training of the Army’s enlisted Soldiers and officers. The Marksmanship Unit trains its Soldiers to win competitions and enhances combat readiness through train-the-trainer clinics, research and development. The world-class Soldier-athletes of the USAMU also promote the Army and assist recruiters in attracting young Americans to enlist in the Army. 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.usarec.army.mil/hq/amu/. For more information on USA Shooting, contact media director Sara Greenlee at (719) 866-4896, sara.greenlee@usashooting.org or http://www.usashooting.com