You may remember earlier this month when Shooting Sports USA shared the story of para-trap competitor Sophia Bultema and her junior world record-setting performance at the 2022 Chateauroux Para Sport World Cup. Now, she will be shooting AA target loads as a member of Team Winchester, after the ammunition juggernaut announced the signing of Bultema this week.
Bultema, an 18-year-old hailing from Colorado Springs, Colorado, will fire her first competition as a member of Team Winchester in July at the 2022 USA Shooting Shotgun National Championships at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan. She will also represent the United States and Team Winchester this November at the 2022 World Shooting Para Sport Championships in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
After living her first six years in an orphanage in China due to being born without a left arm, Sophia was adopted by her parents and brought home to Colorado Springs. Sophia grew up in a shooting sports family, receiving a toy shotgun during her first Christmas in Colorado.
Since competitive shooting is a sport where people can still compete with their peers despite physical impairments, Sophia joined her local high school’s Scholastic Clay Target Program team. Not long after starting with the high school team, Sophia was introduced to para trap, and now she will represent the United States in this emerging sport that is on track to be added to the Paralympic Games.
Open to athletes who have a physical impairment, para-trap shooting is based on the Olympic trap discipline, differing only with a few equipment and qualification requirements. The athlete uses a shotgun to hit clays propelled in the air from machines on the ground, with the goal to make as many hits as possible. During the competition, athletes will shoot from five central positions in the qualification round at a total of 125 clays.
“Sophia has an inspirational story of overcoming adversity while maintaining an excellent outlook and striving to do her very best,” said Matt Campbell, vice president of sales and marketing for Winchester Ammunition. “She is an exceptional sport shooter and we’re extremely proud to have her as a member of Team Winchester and ambassador of the shooting sports.”
Find out more about Sophia Bultema by visiting her Facebook page. For the latest from Winchester Ammunition, go to winchester.com.
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