The final day of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Shooting World Cup in Fort Benning wrapped on a high note for the USA Shooting Team as JazminAlmlie-Ryan (pictured) won gold today in the R5 (Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH2) event. “My match was a whirlwind!” Almlie-Ryan said excitedly. “I had just shot in my first international final [earlier this week], already had a quota, so I went into this cool as a cucumber and ready to have fun and I did!”
Almlie-Ryan finished Qualification in fifth place with a score of 632.8. Once in the Final, Almlie-Ryan moved unusually slowly; taking virtually all of the allotted time for each shot or series. At one point, Almlie-Ryan even fired a shot with only a second to spare and elicited an audible gasp from the crowd.
“It’s funny that during training, I was going too fast,” she said. “I wasn’t checking my natural point of aim or anything so for match time, I had practiced slowing it down and checking everything. I hadn’t really practiced it with a Finals time situation. I just didn’t have my timing down right once it came to this Final. Guess we’ll need to work on that in training!” This medal marks Almlie-Ryan’s first in international competition.
Earlier this week, Almlie-Ryan had made her international Finals debut when she finished in eighth place in R4 (Mixed 10m Air Rifle Standing SH2) and had earned a Paralympic quota. A quota spot is essentially the entry ticket necessary for a country to compeste in Paralympic Games competition.
McKenna Dahl (Arlington, Washington) finished in 14th place in R5 today, Mariah Beckham (Daleville, Alabama) finished in 42nd place and Israel del Toro (Cibolo, Texas) finished in 43rd place.
John Joss (U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit/Corsicana, Texas) finished just .2 points out of qualifying for the Finals in the R6(Mixed 50m Prone Rifle SH1) event to take ninth place overall. Nick Beach (Dresden, Ohio) finished in 41st place and Viktor White (State College, Pennsylvania) finished in 44th place.
The highest finisher for the U.S. in P4 (Mixed 50m Pistol SH1) was 2012 Paralympian Eric Hollen (Colorado Springs, Colorado) who finished in 30th place. Shaun Tichenor (USAMU/Brainerd Minnesota) finished in 33rd place, Michael Tagliapietra (Fond du Lac, Wisconsin) finished in 36th place and Kerry Morris (Grand Prairie, Texas) finished in 41st place.
This World Cup was the final opportunity for athletes to earn Paralympic quotas. An athlete can win only one quota for his/her country. USA Shooting athletes winning Paralympic quotas will be selected for the 2016 Paralympic Games through a separate selection procedure. USA Shooting athletes who have earned Paralympic quotas are Joss, Tagliapietra, Almlie-Ryan, Dahl and Tammy Delano (Rome, New York). Earlier this week, Delano won a bronze medal in the R2 (Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1) event. For more information on the USA Shooting Paralympic Team selection process, please visithttp://www.usashooting.org/12-the-team/rioinsight#paraoneyear.
Nearly 180 athletes from 48 countries competed in the IPC Shooting World Cup for medals and Paralympic Games quotas. View complete results from this IPC Shooting World Cup: http://results.sius.com/Events.aspx?Championship=ebf28416-43c3-42db-a121-390ea788527a.
View photos from this event: https://flic.kr/s/aHskk2q3Zu and follow this event on social media: #IPCWCUSA.
For more information about IPC Shooting, please visit their website: http://www.paralympic.org/shooting.