The U.S. Paralympic Trials Part Two for shooting have concluded after a week of competition at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, February 2-10.
There are three trials in total for the U.S. Paralympic Shooting Team before athletes will start to qualify for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
At this second competition of the U.S. Paralympic Trials, McKenna Geer, a 2016 bronze Paralympic medalist, made her comeback in the sport of shooting only one year after giving birth to her first child. Competing in the R4 10m Air Rifle Standing Mixed SH2 event, Geer finished in first place, along with landing in the runner-up spot in the R5 10m Air Rifle Prone SH2 event.
Kevin Nguyen, who is also a new parent, shot impressive scores at the U.S. Paralympic Trials for shooting in Colorado Springs this past February. During one relay of R3 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1 he fired a score of 623.4. Next, on the final relay of R6 50m Rifle Prone Mixed SH1, he posted a score of 628.4. A 2020 Paralympian, Nguyen placed first in both events.
Geer and Nguyen competed alongside a handful of United States Paralympian shooters in February, including Marco De La Rosa (Rio 2016), Taylor Farmer (Tokyo 2020), John Wayne Joss III (Tokyo 2020), Jazmin Almlie-Ryan (Tokyo 2020) and YanXiao Gong (Tokyo 2020).
Regarding Gong, he is looking to qualify for his second Paralympic team. He enjoyed much success internationally in 2023. Gong is the reigning World Champion in P3 Mixed 25m Pistol SH1 and was a two-time medalist at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
The competition in Colorado Springs, Colorado, also saw emerging athletes such as Landon Ruggera looking to earn a berth for their first Paralympic Games in Paris. Ruggera finished second in both R3 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1 and R6 50m Rifle Prone Mixed SH1.
The third U.S. Paralympic Trials for shooting will take place April 21-28, 2024, in Anniston and Talladega, Alabama.
As of February 2024, athletes can earn Paris 2024 team selections in the following events where the United States has earned quota spots.
- Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH2: earned by Jazmin Almlie-Ryan at the 2022 World Shooting Para Sport Championships
- P3 Mixed 25m Pistol SH1: earned by YanXiao Gong at the 2023 World Shooting Para Sport Championship
- R6 Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH1: earned by John Joss at the 2023 World Shooting Para Sport Championship
- P3 Men’s Air Pistol SH1: earned by Marco De La Rosa at the 2023 Pan American Games
The U.S team will be competing in one more international competition before Paris 2024 in the hopes to earn national quotas in the remaining events.
You can see all the scores from the U.S. Paralympic Trials Part Two for shooting at this link. Additionally, you can view the current overall rankings of the Paralympic selection process here. (The latter is a spreadsheet download link.)
Learn more about USA Shooting at usashooting.org.
