Many of Canada’s most dedicated athletes are in the shooting sports. Here are a few of Canada’s shooting sports ambassadors and their recent accomplishments, most of which go unnoticed outside of small, regional newspapers.

 

Christina Matchett

Cadet Warrant Officer Christina Matchett “blew away the competition” at the South Island Zone Biathlon competition, held January 7, 2020 at Mount Washington Alpine Resort – one of Vancouver Island’s premier skiing destinations.

 

Lynda Kiejko

Lynda Kiejko will represent Canada at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan this summer. A long-time competitor at the international level, this is Kiejko’s second trip to the Olympic games representing our nation.

Lynda Kiejko is headed to #Tokyo2020 ?

She will compete for ?? in the 10m air pistol event ?

See all of #TeamCanada‘s qualifications ?https://t.co/Xfip0UINau pic.twitter.com/0hQjhwia8z

— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) January 22, 2020

Allan Harding

Three-time Canadian National Champion and avid pistol shooting competitor Allan Harding made his mark in 2014 shooting at the ISSF World Championships, the Continental American Championships, the Commonwealth Games and the Canadian Airgun Grand Prix.

Harding recently placed 1st in the men’s 10m pistol event at the 2019 Canadian National Rifle and Pistol Championships, then traveled to Europe to represent Canada at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup in February.

Today I defended my title and took the gold in the men’s 10m pistol AND 50m pistol ISSF events. Double gold at the 2019 Canadian National Pistol Championships! ??

2017 2018 2019 National Champion!
????#targetsports #ISSF @ISSF_Shooting #tenex #teamcanada #olympics pic.twitter.com/hBq5qILIuv

— Allan Harding (@alharding) August 25, 2019

 

Amanda Obrigewitch and Curtis Wennberg

Amanda Chudoba-Obrigewitch (Alberta) and Curtis Wennberg (Manitoba) won the bronze medal in Mixed Trap at the 2019 Pan Am games in Lima, Peru. They won the only shooting sports medals for Team Canada at the games.

“I am incredibly proud of our whole shotgun team. I’m thankful to represent Canada and bring a Bronze back to our country with my partner Curtis! On to 2024! We can only get better from here!” Obrigewitch said after the event.

Amanda Chudoba-Obrigewitch, gold medalist at the 2015 Pan Am Games, is also the winner of five consecutive national titles.

Curtis Wennberg, a gold medalist in Team Trap at the 1991 Pam Am Games in Havana, Cuba, also offered high praise for his teammates.

“They’re a great team and they brought home a little bit of hardware.”

Canada’s Olympic Medal History

Canada’s first Olympic shooting medals were won at London 1908. Walter Ewing and George Beattie finished 1-2 in men’s trap and won silver in men’s team trap. A fourth medal, a bronze, was won in men’s team military rifle.

Beattie added a third Olympic medal to his resumé at Paris 1924, taking another silver in men’s team trap.

History was made at Helsinki 1952 where George Genereux was crowned Olympic champion in men’s trap, the youngest ever in the history of the event.

A pair of Canadians created a great story of sportsmanship at Melbourne 1956 where Gerald Ouellette and Gilmour Boa won gold and bronze, respectively, in the men’s 50m rifle prone event. Both men competed using Boa’s rifle after Ouellette had earlier troubles with his own rifle which had been damaged en route to the Games.

At the first Olympic Games to include separate shooting events for women, Linda Thom won 25m pistol gold at Los Angeles 1984. Eight years earlier at Montreal 1976, Susan Nattrass had become the first woman to compete in Olympic trap shooting, facing off against the men in the first of her six Olympic appearances.

 

Anna Korakaki Makes Olympic Sport Shooting History

Shooting sports athlete and Olympic Gold medalist Anna Korakaki will make history by being the first torch-bearer in an Olympic Flame lighting ceremony. Korakaki received news of her selection for this honour by the Hellenic Olympic Committee in early February.

“It is a historic moment as for the first time in history a female athlete will be the first Torchbearer. I believe that Anna Korakaki has honored the Greek flag and our country, and she deserves it, not only for the two medals at the Rio Olympics but also for her successes after 2016,” said HOC President and IOC member Spyros Capralos.

 

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This is not a comprehensive list, obviously, so let me know who I missed, along with their accomplishments, in the comments below.