Home / Other sports / Paris Olympics 2024: Thirteen shooting athletes se..

Paris Olympics 2024: Thirteen shooting athletes secured Olympic quotas following US Olympic trials

The Tucson Trap and Skeet Club in Arizona hosted the US Olympic Trials Shotgun Part 2 competition from March 11–17.

By Pushkar Pandey | Mar 27, 2024 | 4 Min Read

Thirteen American shooters have earned spots for the Paris 2024 Olympics after the US Shotgun Olympic Trials Part 2 and Rifle & Pistol Olympic Trials Part 3 wrapped up. The Shotgun event took place at the Tucson Trap and Skeet Club in Arizona from March 11th to 17th, and the Smallbore Rifle & Pistol Trials happened at the Army Marksmanship Unit’s Pool Range Complex in Fort Benning, Georgia, from March 17th to 19th.

Staff Sergeant Tozier, from Pattonsburg, Missouri, secured her first Olympic quota after bringing home a bronze from the 2023 Pan American Games. The Texas-born shooter also bagged a bronze at the 2024 CAT Games and was crowned the 2023 Junior World Champion. She’s a student at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

Mein from Paola, Kansas, who participated in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, is a 2024 CAT Games gold medalist. He grabbed another gold at the 2022 ISSF World Shotgun Championships in Osijek, Croatia, securing his Paris 2024 place. Hinton, from Dacula, Georgia, has nabbed his Olympic spots for the first time. Also, part of the US Army’s marksmanship team, Hinton rode on his triumph at the 2022 CAT Games to perform strongly at these trials.

Hancock, a shooter from Eatonton, Georgia, has three Olympic golds to his name in Skeet from Tokyo 2020, London 2012, and Beijing 2008. He’s aiming for a record fourth gold in Paris, which would make him the first shooter to accomplish such a feat. He’s also the reigning Pan Am Games champ. Prince of Burleson, Texas, who won gold in the 2023 World Cup Mixed Team Skeet, is heading to his first Olympics, while Keller.

Other US Shooting Athletes Qualifying for Paris Olympics 2024

Texas-owned Smith, who scored bronze at the 2023 Pan American Games, aims to beat her Tokyo 2020 rank. Vizzi from Odessa, Florida, has had a shining season with a win at the Pan American Games and a silver at the World Championship. Paris 2024 would mark her Olympic debut. Sarasota, Florida’s Tucker seeks to outperform her Tokyo performance in the 50m Smallbore and match or top her Japanese silver in the Air Rifle Mixed Team.

January 2024 saw her claim an Air Rifle spot for the Olympics. Maddalena from Groveland, California, another Army sergeant, hopes to beat her Tokyo 50m Smallbore standing and will compete again in the 10m Air Rifle, which she earned her place in at the January Olympic Trials. Sergeant Roe from Manhattan, Montana, a 2022 mixed team 50m prone rifle world champ, is set for his first Olympic appearance, having also already earned his 10m Air Rifle quota.

Ohio State University student Abeln from Douglasville, Georgia, a member of the OSU Pistol 2024 National Championship team, has landed a quota for the first time. San Antonio, Texas’s Sanderson, a three-time Olympian with a top performance of fifth place at the Beijing Rapid-Fire Pistol 25m event, will be looking to add to his experiences at Rio 2016, London 2012, and Beijing 2008 with a strong showing in Paris.

Indian shooting athletes to secure Paris Olympics 2024 quota

India has a chance to secure four additional places in shooting events, with one spot for men and one for women in both the trap and skeet categories, at the event in Doha next month. Shreyasi Singh, winner at the Commonwealth Games, and Mairaj Ahmad Khan, who has competed in two Olympics, are part of the 12-person Indian team that will compete in the ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship Shotgun 2024 in Doha, Qatar.

The competition will run from April 19 to April 29 and will feature trap and skeet shooting events. To date, India has earned 19 spots for the upcoming Paris Olympics Games 2024. Out of these, the Indian shotgun team has secured four spots – two for trap and two for skeet, marking the best they have done at the Games so far.

There’s a chance for India to win four additional spots in Doha – again, one for men and one for women in both trap and skeet events. The shooters who already hold quotas are not in the running for this qualification event, opening up opportunities for other competitors to earn a place for India in the Olympics.

In June, Indian shooters will compete in the Shotgun World Cup in Lonato. Quota holders Bhowneesh Mendiratta (men’s trap), Rajeshwari Kumari (women’s trap), Anant Jeet Singh Naruka (men’s skeet) and Raiza Dhillon (women’s skeet) will compete in Lonato. The Indian shotgun hopefuls are currently at a technical training camp in New Delhi, which will be followed by preparatory camps before they leave for Doha.