Munich, Germany: Day 6 Report

[USA Shooting]

The 50th World Shooting Championships
Munich, Germany: Day 6 Report
"A Golden Day"



Josh Richmond: Your new Men's Double Trap 2010 World Champion
MUNICH, GERMANY-- Thursday was a golden, record-setting day for athletes and teams wearing the red, white, and blue. In 2005, SSG Josh Richmond (Hillsgrove, Pa.) was the World Champion for Men's Junior Double Trap, and just five short years later, Richmond once again claimed the title of World Champion. In addition to a quota spot for the 2012 games, Richmond won the first individual (open category) USA gold medal at the 2010 World Shooting Championships in Munich, Germany. Battling wind and rain, Richmond forged ahead to the final round, while CPL Jeff Holguin (Yorba Linda, Calif.) entered a six-man shoot-off for two spots. With the poise of an experienced shotgunner, Holguin fired four times for four targets and a spot in the finals.

In perhaps the most intriguing final of this year's World Championships, the athletes were once again dealing with rain, wind, and chilly weather. Richmond started out strong with clear, solid hits. Shortly into the final, Holguin called over a jury member as his shotgun failed to fire. After he was granted a five minute break for repairs, Holguin made a dash to his gun case for a spare trigger. Returning to the line, he picked up the pace and only dropped two targets of fifty the whole final. An interesting development occurred with only a handful of targets left: Holguin noticed that the angle of the targets had altered thus disrupting the patterns. The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) referees paused the match and brought out cross-arms to measure the angle of the targets. Indeed, the right target on machine nine had been creeping towards the center. After adjustments, the jury granted Holguin a re-fire on the pair, which he crushed.

Richmond shot straight through the fifty target final for a total of 196/200 targets. China's Hu Binyuan (who finished with a bronze medal), the former World Record Holder of 196 targets, watched as Richmond added his name to the record books. "Josh performed as expected. He is a top-notch athlete. We have the best Double Trap shooter in the world. He did a fantastic job and shot a super final...as expected," remarked National Shotgun Coach Bret Erickson. With a huge smile and wave to his parents in the crowd, Richmond claimed the gold medal. Despite mechanical obstacles and poorly angled targets, Holguin finished fourth with 192 targets. Their teammate, 17-year-old Billy Crawford (Johnstown, Ohio), finished 11th at 143 targets with an impressive 50/50 last round.

With all three--Richmond, Holguin, and Crawford--finishing in the top eleven places of qualification, the USA once again brought home the gold medal. Richmond and Holguin (with Glenn Eller) won the team gold medal in 2009 at the World Shooting Championships. Yet the team not only won a gold medal, but also shot for a new Team World Record of 433 targets, three above the previous record. Richmond said, "I'm happy to have won the gold medal and brought a quota spot to the USA. We [the Double Trap Team] set the standard for the rest of the US team. Now that we have a gold, I am confident that our team will continue on this pace."

The shotgun glory doesn't end there--the Junior Men's Double Trap Team ascended the podium for a bronze medal. The trio of Ian Rupert (Muncy, Pa.), Derek Haldeman (Sunbury, Ohio), and Kelcey Depatis (Donovan, Ill.) nailed 392 total targets. Individually, Rupert entered a shoot-off with Russia's Artem Nekrasov for fifth and sixth place. Nailing the first two targets, Rupert fell into sixth as he missed the second pair. Haldeman finished 12th with 132 targets and Kelcey Depatis was 16th at 122 targets.

Next, the Junior Women's 50m Rifle 3 Position team of Amanda Furrer (Spokane, Wash.), Sarah Beard (Danville, Ind.), and Sarah Scherer (Fort Worth, Texas), demolished the former World Junior Record by a whopping eleven points. The competition was an astonishing fourteen points behind the American team. The combined effort of 1747 total points (586 points from Furrer, 582 from Scherer, and 579 from Beard) was the golden standard.

Maintaing the pace, the Women's 50m 3 Position Rifle team event was a nail-biter to the end. With the strong German team in first, many had written off the US team as Sandy Fong (New York, N.Y.) entered her kneeling position with only thirty minutes left. Blowing expectations out of the water and shooting like a rock star, Fong fired downrange for ten after ten. With a total of 198 points kneeling, Fong helped secure the gold medal for the USA Shooting Team. Also adding to the noteworthy performance, were Jamie Beyerle (Lebanon, Pa.) who shot a personal-best and new national match record of 593 points and Amy Sowash (Katy, Texas) with 585 points.


For complete scores and rankings, please visit the ISSF Website.



ELEY is a Proud Sponsor of the USA Shooting Rifle and Pistol Teams: ELEY Limited, manufacturer of the world's most consistently accurate rimfire ammunition, has been the Official Sponsor and Official Supplier of .22 rimfire ammunition of the USA Shooting rifle and pistol teams since 2000. For more information on ELEY and their products, please visit www.eley.co.uk.

Winchester Ammunition is a Proud Sponsor of the USA Shooting Shotgun Team: Winchester® Ammunition has been the exclusive ammunition sponsor and supplier of the USAShooting Shotgun Team since 1999. Members of the 2008 shotgun team brought home four medals from Beijing using Winchester AA International Target loads. Winchester is an industry leader in advancing and supporting conservation, hunter education and our country's proud shooting sports heritage. For more information about Winchester and its complete line of products, visit www.winchester.com.


Dallas Safari Club (DSC) is a proud sponsor of USA Shooting's Junior Team to the World Shooting Championship Team in Munich, Germany. An independent organization since 1982, DSC has become an international leader in conserving wildlife and wilderness lands, educating youth and the general public, and promoting and protecting the rights and interests of hunters worldwide. For more information on DSC visit www.biggame.org.



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