Four rifle athletes are representing Team USA this summer at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, July 26- to August 11. The U.S. rifle athletes are Rylan Kissell, Ivan Roe, Sagen Maddalena and Mary Tucker.
Rylan Kissell, of Denver, Colorado, is the most recent athlete to qualify for the Paris 2024 Games. Kissell finished second overall at the conclusion of the U.S. Olympic Trials-Air Gun this past January, a three-part competition. Kissell was recently confirmed as a qualified athlete in Men’s 10m Air Rifle for the Paris Games based on USA Shooting selection procedures.
Kissell will make his Olympic debut in Paris this summer. The University of Alaska-Fairbanks alumnus discovered competitive shooting when he was 12 years old. He originally wanted to compete in the sport of biathlon, as he was an avid skier, but soon realized that cross country skiing was vastly different from the downhill skiing he enjoyed. After his college career, he became a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training center in Colorado Springs, Springs, Colorado, to pursue his dream of making an Olympic team. Kissell has excelled in his shooting career and most recently earned two medals at the 2023 Pan American Games. In Paris, he will be competing in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle, Mixed Team Air Rifle and Men’s 50m Smallbore Rifle events.
Ivan Roe, a Manhattan, Montana, native, will also be competing in his first Olympic Games this summer. When Roe was just seven years old, his dad signed him up for a marksmanship and firearm safety course. He fell in love with the sport of shooting and was a rifle competitor for the Gallatin Valley Sharpshooters in Montana. Roe went on to shoot for Murray State University where he was a seven-time All-American. After college, Roe joined the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit where his shooting career has soared. Roe, a sergeant in the Army, most recently earned an impressive six medals at the 2024 Championship of the Americas. In Paris, he will be competing in Men’s 10m Air Rifle, Mixed Team Air Rifle and Men’s 50m Smallbore Rifle.
Sagen Maddalena, of Groveland, California, will make her second Olympic appearance this summer. A Tokyo 2020 Olympian, she was introduced to shooting through her local 4-H club. Maddalena started off with high-power rifles and eventually moved into Olympic-style shooting. She walked on to one of the best rifle programs in the country at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, and red-shirted her first season in 2013. Maddalena’s success was evident throughout college as she was an eight-time All-American. After college, Maddalena joined the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit and her international achievements began stacking up. Maddalena earned two medals at the 2023 ISSF World Championships, three medals at the 2023 Pan American Games and, most recently, four medals at the 2024 Championship of the Americas. She currently holds the world record in Women’s 50m Smallbore Rifle. At the Paris 2024 Games this summer, Maddalena will be competing in Women’s 10m Air Rifle, Mixed Team Air Rifle and Women’s 50m Smallbore Rifle.
Mary Tucker, a Sarasota, Florida, native, is competing in her second Olympic Games in Paris this summer. The West Virginia University alumni is a Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medalist in Mixed Team Air Rifle. Her Olympic silver was added to her extensive collection of more than 20 international medals. Tucker’s early experience of learning about Olympic-style shooting is unique. She took to YouTube to learn about the sport. She watched international finals events and taught herself through the videos. Her early self-taught days have clearly paid off. She most recently earned three medals at the 2023 Pan American Games, including gold in Women’s 50m Smallbore Rifle. In Paris she will be competing in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle, Mixed Team Air Rifle and Women’s 50m Smallbore Rifle events.
Peter Durben, of St. Paul, Minnesota, will be leading the team as the Olympic rifle coach for Paris. He was a member of the Barcelona 1992 Olympic shooting team and is the U.S. national rifle coach.
The first rifle event for Paris 2024 is 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team and Women’s 10m Air Pistol on July 27. All finals events will be live streamed on Peacock, NBC’s streaming platform. You can se the Olympic shooting schedule here.
Olympic alternates for the U.S. Rifle Team are as follows:
- Men’s 10m Air Rifle: Lucas Kozeniesky and Tim Sherry
- Men’s 50m Smallbore Rifle: Nickolaus Mowrer and Peter Fiori
- Women’s 10m Air Rifle: Alison Weisz and Katie Zaun
- Women’s 50m Smallbore Rifle: Katie Zaun and Sarah Beard
The U.S. Olympic shooting team consists of 17 athletes and the U.S. Paralympic team of five. View the entire U.S. Olympic shooting team and Paralympic roster at the USA Shooting website.
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