Beyerle, Fong in the Lead for Womens 3P

[USA Shooting]

Beyerle, Fong in the Lead in Women’s 3-Position Rifle at 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Shooting (Smallbore)



FT. BENNING, Ga. (May 20, 2008) – The first day of the Women’s 3-Position competition was held today at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Shooting (Smallbore) with Jamie Beyerle (Lebanon, Pa.) and Abigail Fong (New York, N.Y.) leading the way in first and second places respectively. There are two Olympic spots available to the U.S. in Women's 3-Position Rifle.



Beyerle, the 2007 Pan American Games gold medalist, is on top after shooting a match score of 586, a final of 100.6 for a total score of 686.6 points. Abigail Fong is in the hunt for an Olympic team spot after finishing the day in second place with 672.7. Fong’s younger sister Sandra Fong (New York, N.Y.) is close behind in third place with 672.3 points. Amanda Furrer (Spokane, Wash.), the 2007 Pan American Games bronze medalist, is in fourth place with a score of 668.1. Amy Sowash (Richmond, Ky.) is in the fifth spot with 663.3, while Taylor Beard (Parker, Colo.) is holding sixth place with 660.3. U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) member Nicole Cooper (Kearny, N.J.) and 2004 Olympian Morgan Hicks (Roy, Wash.), the 2008 Rio World Cup gold medalist, are in seventh and eighth places with scores of 658.6 and 656.7 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.



The rifle/pistol athletes are being 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 3-Position Rifle and Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol were named on May 19. Two-time Olympian and USAMU member Jason Parker (Omaha, Neb.) earned 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. Emmons was the 2004 Olympic gold medalist in Men’s Prone. 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 in the Rapid Fire event.



Men’s Prone Rifle, Women’s Sport Pistol and Men’s Free Pistol U.S. Olympic team members 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. 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.