The first five USA Shooting athletes—Ivan Roe, Mary Tucker, Sagen Maddalena, Alexis Lagan and Katelyn Abeln—have qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after the conclusion of the third Air Gun Trials selection match held in Anniston, Ala., January 7.
Ivan Roe, a Manhattan, Mont., native, will be making his Olympic debut in Paris competing in Men’s Air Rifle. Roe was a member of the 2023 International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Championship team and the 2022 Championships of the Americas (CAT) team where he earned a gold medal and a U.S. Olympic quota. Roe is currently a sergeant in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit at Fort Moore, Georgia.
“I am super excited,” Roe said. “This is a huge relief off my shoulders. During the finals, I was just committing to the process. I wasn’t focused on Paris at all. I was just trying to shoot the best shot I could.”
Mary Tucker, a Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medalist, will be making her second Olympic Games appearance in Paris for Women’s Air Rifle. A Sarasota, Fla., native, Tucker most recently earned three medals at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. She also brought home a gold medal at the 2023 ISSF World Championship where she helped set a new team record. Tucker has seen success worldwide having earned over 24 medals internationally.
Sagen Maddalena of Groveland, Calif., is also making her second Olympic Games appearance after competing in Tokyo in 2021. Maddalena qualified for the Paris 2024 team in Women’s Air Rifle. Notably, Maddalena enjoyed a successful 2023 season. At the 2023 Pan American Games she was crowned Women’s Air Rifle champion and earned a total of three medals. In addition, she earned two more medals at the 2023 ISSF World Championship.
“This is pretty surreal, the competition was so tough,” Maddalena said. “I can’t believe I made it. I am proud of myself, and I think it’s awesome, but I worked for it. I definitely put in the miles and hours.”
Maddalena is currently a sergeant in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit and previously shot for the University of Alaska-Fairbanks rifle team.
Alexis “Lexi” Lagan, a Boulder City, Nev., native, is among the returning Olympians from the Tokyo 2020 Games. Lagan qualified in Women’s Air Pistol for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. She most recently earned a silver medal in the event at the 2023 Pan American Games where she also secured the United States a quota for the Paris 2024 Games. Lagan’s accomplishments don’t stop there. She is a three-time medalist from the 2022 CAT Games, as well as a six-time national champion.
Katelyn Abeln, of Douglasville, Ga., will be making her Olympic debut in Paris this summer. Abeln, who currently shoots for the Ohio State University, qualified in Women’s Air Pistol. She was also on the 2023 ISSF World Championship team and the 2022 CAT Games team, where Abeln earned three medals.
“I don’t think it has sunk in yet,” Abeln said when asked how she felt about qualifying for her first Olympic Games. “I am grateful all this hard work has finally paid off. This has been the goal for the past four years and even since I started shooting.”
Abeln started shooting competitively when she was 12 years old. Her dad was her coach up until she began her collegiate shooting career. She also mentioned that she is excited to represent the red, white and blue on the Olympic stage.
You can view all official results from the U.S. Olympic Trials for Air Gun here.
Up next for USA Shooting are the U.S. Paralympic Trials Part Two in February, followed by the U.S. Olympic Trials for Shotgun Part Two and U.S. Olympic Trials for Rifle and Pistol Smallbore Shooting Part Three, both taking place in March.
The final Team USA roster for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be announced this summer, pending approval by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
Learn more about USA Shooting at usashooting.org.
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