U.S. Wins First Medal at Paralympics Since 2004

by
posted on October 12, 2016
mckenna-dahl.jpg

McKenna Dahl of Arlington, WA, made history last month when she became the first woman to win a Paralympic medal in shooting for the United States, when she won the bronze in the R5 (Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH2) event at the Centro Nacional de Tiro Esportivo in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Dahl was the youngest at age 20, and also the only woman from a field of eight that qualified for the Finals. She finished in third place with a score of 635.4. In the Finals, the top eight shooters from qualification all start at zero. Dahl lead early from the start of the Finals match, staying in the top three during the tight contest.

null
Dahl got her start in the sport in 2009 while attending Camp Access, a summer camp for kids with disabilities in Washington.

When it came to the elimination shot for the bronze medal position (the 18th shot of the match), Dahl was in second place and shot a 10.3. The then third place athlete—Geunsoo Kim of South Korea—shot a 10.8 to move ahead of Dahl—claiming the bronze medal.

“It's overwhelming!” said Dahl. “I knew about half way through the Final that I was in contention for a medal and I was probably going to succeed in doing so. A lot of it was really just shot process and breathing, keeping everything together and doing what I needed to do.”

During her pre-event training (PET), Dahl noted some issues with her rifle’s sights and did a complete replacement of her sights in the middle of the hour-long training session.

“I had some issues with my sights sticking early on and about half way through the PET, they started sticking again so Armando [Ayala, Paralympic Assistant Coach] had brought a new sight and we changed it out. I named it ‘Aaron’ to get to know it better and become comfortable with it. I had a date with Aaron that day and it went pretty well!” she laughed.

Dahl’s medal win marks the first U.S. Paralympic Games medal in shooting since Dan Jordan won silver in men’s three-position rifle in 2004. Roger Withrow—the only U.S. Paralympic Games gold medal winner in shooting—winning the Air Rifle Prone event in 1984.

Latest

Brouwer 1
Brouwer 1

Review: Brouwer Solutions M1811 Grip Module

The grip angle geometry of this module for the SIG P320 platform gives 1911 ergonomics, and also aids shooters by placing the bore axis in a natural position.

2023 NRA National Matches At Camp Atterbury (Part 1)

Women top NRA High Power OTC and Mid-Range championship leaderboards, plus Jon Shue lands another NRA National Pistol title.

USA Clay Target League: 14,708 Athletes Registered, Breaks Fall Participation Record

More than 14,000 athletes are registered for the USA Clay Target League’s fall season, which is a new record.

USA Shooting: Tim Sherry Seeking Mastery At Paris 2024 Olympics

Tim Sherry’s Path to Paris began with a visit to USA Shooting headquarters at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Book Review: “Straight Shooting: A World Champion’s Guide to Shotgunning”

This must-read book by champion shotgunner Anthony I. Matarese, Jr., is a treatise on the game of sporting clays.

Preview: Savior Equipment Pro S.E.M.A. Competition Backpack

Savior Equipment designs and manufactures bags, cases, backpacks, etc., for firearm transport and other outdoor activities.

Interests



Get the best of Shooting Sports USA delivered to your inbox.