USA Shooting Paralympic athlete YanXiao Gong picked up the silver medal in the P3 mixed 25m pistol SH1 event at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on Monday, September 2.
This is the first Paralympic medal for Gong after finishing in 10th place in the event at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2021.
“This is my second Paralympics, so going home with a silver is definitely something,” Gong said in the post-event press conference.
He walked away from the P3 mixed 25m pistol SH1 final with a score of 28, which was two points behind the gold medalist.
Gong entered the P3 mixed 25m pistol SH1 final ranked fourth after the precision and rapid-fire qualification rounds with a score of 573-10X. The top eight shooters, including Gong, advanced to the final.
As for the other podium finishes in the P3 mixed 25m pistol SH1 event, Chinese shooter Chao Yang won the gold medal and set a Paralympic record with 30 points. In addition, Jungnam Kim of Korea earned the bronze medal with 24 points.
Gong missed a shot at one crucial section of the elimination stage during the final, posting a zero while Yang and Kim both fired four-point scores. However, he bounced back to end the final in second place and with the silver medal.
“It is something everybody has to deal with, but to my surprise, I did not find it as intense as I imagined,” Gong said. “It was less stressful than some of the regional championships in the USA.”
Gong’s U.S. teammate, Marco de La Rosa, exited the P3 mixed 25m pistol SH1 event qualification in 19th place, failing to advance to the final. This marked his last event at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Next up for Team USA in shooting events at the Paris 2024 Paralympics will be Kevin Nguyen in the R6 mixed 50m rifle prone SH1 event on Thursday, September 5, along with McKenna Geer in the R9 mixed 50m prone SH2 event on Wednesday, September 4.
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