LANCE BADE WINS SHOOT-OFF FOR SILVER MEDAL AT SYDNEY WORLD CUP
SYDNEY - Lance Bade, 32, of Vancouver, Washington, battled his way to both a silver medal and a highly-coveted Olympic quota slot for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens in a marathon shoot-off in the men's trap event at the ISSF Sydney World Cup.
A resident athlete at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Bade is also a two-time US Olympian and the bronze medallist in trap at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Bade emerged from the 125-target qualifying round having missed only three targets and found himself tied for second place with 2000 Olympic gold medallist Michael Diamond of Australia. The 25-target medals final round gave both Bade and Diamond a chance to make up one target on the two leaders, Australian Adam Vella and Marco Venturini of Italy, resulting in a four-way tie for the overall lead at 146 of a possible 150 targets. In the shoot-off, Diamond, the current World and Olympic Champion, won the gold medal, while Bade bested Vella and Venturini to take the silver and Olympic quota.
TODD GRAVES WINS SHOOT-OFF FOR SILVER MEDAL AT SYDNEY WORLD CUP
SYDNEY - Todd Graves, 39, of Laurel, Mississippi, battled his way through a heated shoot-off to win the silver medal in the men's skeet event at the ISSF Sydney World Cup earlier this week. Currently a member of the US Army Marksmanship Unit at Ft. Benning, Georgia, Graves is a three-time US Olympian who won the bronze medal in skeet at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
Graves emerged from a 45 shooter field after the 125-target qualifying round having missed only one target and found himself in a three-way tie for the overall lead with Norway's Erik Watndal and Leos Hlavacek of the Czech Republic. A perfect score in the 25-target medals final round gave the Norwegian the gold medal and a highly-coveted quota slot for Norway in this event at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Two misses from both Graves and Hlavacek brought the pair to the line for a tie-breaking shoot-off for the remaining two medals. As the shoot-off progressed through several stations, it was the Czech who finally dropped his sixth target, giving the silver medal to the determined American.
BICKAR SWEEPS 3X RAPID FIRE PISTOL MATCHES, SETS NATIONAL RECORD
US OLYMPIC TRAINING CENTER, COLORADO SPRINGS- John Bickar, 24, of Canton, Ohio, scored a clean sweep with three consecutive wins at the 3X Rapid Fire Pistol Matches held at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. A resident athlete at USOTC, Bickar also equaled the current national record in the event's qualifying round with a stunning score of 594 of a possible 600 points during the second day's match, a performance just three points short of the current world record. Bickar then added to his victory by posting a 99.5 final round score to shatter the previous national record set by former US Olympian Roger Mar in 1993 by more than eight points.
Pushing Bickar hard throughout the trio of matches was five-time US Olympian John McNally, 46, of Heath, Texas. McNally, a second-generation Olympian in this demanding pistol event and now co-national record holder with Bickar put together a set of very credible scores in the three matches but couldn't match Bickar's blistering pace.
DORMAN WINS BRONZE MEDAL IN TRAP AT SHANGHAI WORLD CUP
SHANGHAI, CHINA - Amanda Dorman, 18, a native of Tooele, Utah, took home the bronze medal in the women's trap event at the ISSF Shanghai World Cup held earlier this week. While still eligible to compete as a junior, Dorman competed in the open class and was able to best all but two of the world's best female shotgun athletes to secure the coveted award.
Currently training at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Dorman emerged from the 75-target qualifying round with a score of 70, leading the the field of 40 international competitors by a two-target margin. A strong score of 23 in the 25-target final round moved Germany's Susanne Kiermayer into the lead, giving her the gold medal. 2000 Olympic bronze medallist E Gao of host nation China methodically made up two targets against Dorman's 19 in the medals final round, moving both women into a sudden death shoot-off for the remaining two medals. On the third tie-breaking shot Dorman's target escaped unscathed while Gao dusted hers for the silver medal.
