USA Shooting athletes brought home a total of seven medals and a United States Paralympic quota after competing at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile, November 17-21.
A Team USA podium sweep secured our first three medals of the games. YanXiao Gong, Marco De La Rosa and Mike Tagliapietra earned gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the Mixed P3 25m Sport Pistol SH1 event.
“I am especially grateful that I am surround by the teammates I have,” Gong, a 2023 World Champion said. “Nothing beats having the stars and stripes on all three flag poles.”
De La Rosa earned Team USA’s fourth medal when he claimed the title of Parapan Champion in the P3 Men’s Air Pistol SH1 event. De La Rosa also earned the United States a Paralympic quota for the Paris 2024 Games in the event. In addition, Gong joined him on the podium after earning the bronze medal.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” De La Rosa, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran said. “I wasn’t focusing on trying to get first place. I was just doing my process.”
Stetson Bardfield claimed Team USA’s sixth medal of the 2023 Parapan American Games by defending his 2019 championship title in the R5 Mixed Air Rifle Prone SH2 event. Bardfield won a gold medal in the event at the last Parapan American Games in Lima 2019.
“It was an absolutely incredible experience,” Bardfield said. “It has been an honor to represent Team USA and I hope to do it again in Paris.”
Kevin Nguyen earned the final Team USA medal when he secured bronze in the R6 Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH1 event.
See all medals earned by USA Shooting athletes at the 2023 Parapan American Games below.
- YanXiao Gong: Gold, Mixed P3 25m Sport Pistol SH1
- Marco De La Rosa: Silver, Mixed P3 25m Sport Pistol SH1
- Mike Tagliapietra: Bronze, Mixed P3 25m Sport Pistol SH1
- Marco De La Rosa: Gold, P3 Men’s Air Pistol SH1 and a U.S. Paralympic quota
- YanXiao Gong: Bronze, P3 Men’s Air Pistol SH1
- Stetson Bardfield: Gold, R5 Mixed Air Rifle Prone
- Kevin Nguyen: Bronze, R6 Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH1
For official results and scores from the 2023 Parapan American Games, head to this link.
USA Shooting would like to thank platinum-level sponsor the NRA Foundation for its support of the team. NRA Foundation contributions helped USA Shooting athletes top the podium at the 2023 Parapan American Games.
Currently, the team is deep in preparation for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Trials, Part One, to be held in Colorado Springs, Colo., December 5-13.
Learn more about USA Shooting at usashooting.org.
