January 7 of the Olympic year came out to be a historic day for West Virginia University and her fifth-year senior, Mary Tucker. The veteran marksman earned her second chance to appear in the Olympics for her trademark, 10m air rifle event. The 22-year-old already has a silver medal to celebrate from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics shooting event. However, this time in Anniston, she inflicted some standouts that were missed from her in previous accounts. 

The last leg of the Olympic shooting trial in Anniston gave out some other glorified shooter names as well. But in the gathering of seasonal campaigners, the fresh faces were the ones to steal the show. 

Five shooters claim the ultimate accommodation of Paris Olympic events 

Eventually, Anniston was the last station after Georgia and Colorado Springs to select the final list of marksmen bound for the Paris Olympic events. So the interest was brewing, as only Mary Tucker was in a better position to reach the final list after the second leg.

However, after the last whistle, Team USA’s X-handle announced the coveted names. The emphatic list held a mixture of experiences. So the ultimate caption for the X-post went, “Aim for @Paris2024  Welcome the first @USAShooting athletes to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team!”.

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The list had Mary Tucker and Sagen Maddalena in the women’s 10m air rifle. The duo competed in the Tokyo Olympic shooting event in the rifle part as well. Tucker had to be satisfied with the 6th position in the air rifle. Meanwhile, Sagen Maddalena took up the fifth position in the smallbore rifle event.

However, on January 7, Maddalena chased Tucker’s hearty score of 3164.7 beautifully, claiming the second position. Among the veterans, Lexi Lagan was there in the women’s 10m air pistol. The 31-year-old marksman clinched the top position. In Tokyo, Lagan wrapped up her performance after claiming 38th rank. However, Anniston also extracted some fresh faces for the Olympic occasion. 

The merriment and heartbreak 

In Lagan’s event, the shooting prodigy from OSU, Katelyn Abeln gave her a tough chase. Ultimately, she took the 2nd position and confirmed her Olympic ticket. The same went with the US Army guy, Ivan Roe. With a berth in the men’s 10m air rifle event, it will be Roe’s first Olympic appearance. Having a marksman background, the cheerful Roe could only concede, “It’s a long road, but in the end, it’s worth it to see the final outcome,” to WVTM. 

Read more: USA Becomes Top-Ranked Country in Shooting Sports With 18 Medals at Pan American Games 2023

But for veterans like Ginny Thrasher, the day didn’t pay up. The 2016 Olympic champion couldn’t make it up in the final selection in the air rifle squad. Ali Weisz was also there to share the agony. The 2022 World Air Rifle champion failed to qualify. Now, they will have to wait for the smallbore event selection. 

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