MEET YOUR PARIS OLYMPIC PISTOL TEAM

[USA Shooting]

MEET YOUR PARIS OLYMPIC PISTOL TEAM
By Brittany Nelson, USAS Public Relations & Communications Manager

COLO SPRGS, CO (June 10, 2024) – With less than 50 days until the Olympic Games Paris 2024 it’s time to get to know the team who will represent USA Shooting on the world’s largest sporting stage.

Five pistol athletes will represent Team USA at the Games, July 26- Aug. 11. The athletes are as follows: Alexis Lagan, Katelyn Abeln, Ada Korkhin, Henry Leverett, and Keith Sanderson.

Lagan, a Boulder City, Nevada, native, is among the returning Olympians from the Tokyo 2020 Games. Lagan qualified in Women’s Air Pistol for the 2024 Games. She most recently earned a silver medal in the event at the 2023 Pan American Games where she also secured the U.S a quota for Paris. She is a three-time medalist from the 2022 CAT Games and a six-time national champion. When Lagan is not training at the range, she is enjoying her Corgis and coaching for Team Winning Solutions.

Abeln, of Douglasville, Georgia, will be making her Olympic debut this year. Abeln, who shot for The Ohio State University, qualified in Women’s Air Pistol and Women’s Sport Pistol. Abeln most recently won two medals at the 2024 Championship of the Americas Games. The 2023 World Championship team member got into the sport through her local 4H club where she started shooting BB guns and learning about firearms safety. The first time she shot an air gun was on a makeshift target at the back of a CrossFit gym and she fell in love. Abeln recently graduated with her bachelor’s degree and is currently in graduate school.

Korkhin, of Brookline, Massachusetts, will also be making her Olympic debut in Women’s Sport Pistol at just 20 years old. She got her start in the sport at the age of nine through the Massachusetts Rifle Association Junior Pistol Team and now currently shoots for the Ohio State University pistol team. Although this will be Korkhin’s first Games, she is no stranger to international success. The pistol shooter earned a gold medal at the 2024 CAT Games in Women’s 25m Sport Pistol Team where she was joined on the podium with teammates Abeln and Lisa Emmert Traciak.

Leverett, a Bainbridge, Georgia, native, qualified for Paris 2024 in Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol. Paris will be his second Games; he made his first appearance in Tokyo 2020. Leverette comes from a family of sport shooters. His brother Jack competed alongside him at the Tokyo games and their sister Abbie shot with both of them on The Ohio State University pistol team. Leverett already has a slew of international medals including a bronze from the 2023 Pan American Games where he also secured the U.S. an Olympic quota slot. The 2023 World Championship team member recently earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Diplomacy and is going to attend graduate school in Vienna, Austria this fall.

Sanderson, of Monument, Colorado, qualified for Paris 2024 in Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol. Paris will be Sanderson’s fourth Olympic Games. He competed in Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016. Sanderson served in the Army and Marine Corps and was most recently on the 2023 World Championship team and the 2023 Pan American Games team. He earned the last quota needed for the U.S. in Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol earlier this year at the 2024 CAT Games.

The first pistol event for Paris 2024 is Women’s Air Pistol on July 27. All finals events will be live streamed on Peacock, NBC’s streaming platform. See the who Olympic shooting schedule here.

Olympic alternates for the U.S. Pistol Team are as follows:

Women’s Air Pistol: Suman Sanghera and Lisa Emmert Traciak
Women’s Sport Pistol: Lisa Emmert Traciak and Alexis Lagan
As of June 7, the U.S. Olympic shooting team consists of 16 athletes and the U.S. Paralympic team of five. View the entire U.S. Olympic shooting team roster here and the Paralympic roster here.

Follow @USAShooting on Instagram, Facebook, and X to stay up to date as the team gears up for Paris 2024.