Titles and Rio Paralympic Quotas on the Line at IPC

[USA Shooting]

Titles and Rio Paralympic Quotas on the Line at IPC World Championships

Ten USA Shooting athletes are set to compete in the biggest event leading up to the 2016 Paralympic Games when they shoot in the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Championships July 18 – 26 in Suhl, Germany.

More than 268 athletes from 55 countries will compete for World Championship titles, as well as the first quota slots for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janerio, Brazil. Attendance at this year’s World Championship organizers say is up 28% from the last World Championships held in 2010 in Zagreb, Croatia.

Not only is Paralympic shooting opportunities growing worldwide, but similar results are present within USA Shooting. From the program’s beginning in 2008 to two Paralympic competitors in London at the 2012 Paralympic Games, the program has grown tremendously in the past two years. Three Olympic Training Center resident athletes and the advent of U.S. Army’s Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) Paralympic Section have strengthened the overall outlook.

“This World Championships is the first opportunity for us to earn the coveted Direct Allocation slots that will allow us to enter athletes in Rio in 2016,” said Paralympic National Team Coach Bob Foth, a 1992 Olympic silver medalist in three-position rifle. “I believe that all our athletes can contend for finals berths if they perform well in Suhl. “It is the biggest competition of the quadrennium and will also provide them with great match experience and a chance to represent USA.”

Leading the U.S. Shooting Team will be three members of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit’s Paralympic Section: Staff Sgt. John Joss (Corsicana, Texas), Staff Sgt. Shaun Tichenor (Brainerd, Minnesota) and Spc. Josh Budd (New Britain, Connecticut).

Joss, the current American Record holder in R3 (Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1) and R6 (Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH1) won gold in R3 last summer at IPC World Cup Bangkok. Joss also defended his National Championship title in R3 (Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone) in June at the USA Shooting National Championships for Rifle/Pistol.

Budd, another Prone Rifle specialist, will look to challenge as he recently earned his World Championship-qualifying scores in May of this year. Tichenor, who earned the first two Finals starts of his career at IPC World Cup USA last month in P1 (Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1) and P4 (Mixed 50m Pistol SH1), is expected to do well in these events. Tichenor was recently featured on NRA News – view the video here: http://www.nranews.com/cam/video/shooti ... n-tichenor.

The IPC recently listed Mike Tagliapietra (Fond du Lac, Wisconsin), currently one of the top athletes in P3 (Mixed 25m Pistol SH1) as one of their “Top Pistol Shooters to Look Out For” at these World Championships. He will compete in P1, P3 and P4, the most events of any U.S. competitor.

The lone athlete with Paralympic Games experience competing for the U.S. is 2012 Paralympian Eric Hollen (Colorado Springs, Colorado) who will shoot the P1 and P4 events.

Three women rifle athletes will represent the United States at this World Championships: Tammy Delano (Rome, New York), Jazmine Almlie-Ryan (Houston) and McKenna Dahl (Arlington, Washington).

Delano and Dahl have won both won gold in Falling Target (Delano at World Cup Szczecin, Poland and Dahl at World Cup Bangkok). Dahl, who recently became a Resident Athlete at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, was listed as one of the “Top 10 Para-Athletes You Should Like on Facebook Ahead of Rio 2016” by the International Paralympic Committee. She will compete in the R4 (Mixed 10m Air Rifle Standing SH2) and R5 (Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH2) events. She too was recently featured on NRA News – view the video here: http://www.nranews.com/cam/video/shooti ... kenna-dahl.

Athletes Competing at IPC World Championships Event(s)
Jazmin Almlie-Ryan (Houston) R4, R5
Nick Beach (Dresden, Ohio) R3
Josh Budd (New Britain, Connecticut) R3, R6
McKenna Dahl (Arlington, Washington) R4, R5
Tammy Delano (Rome, New York) R2, R3
Eric Hollen (Colorado Springs, Colorado) P1, P4
John Joss (Corsicana, Texas) R3, R6
Kerry Morris (Grand Prairie, Texas) P3
Mike Tagliapietra (Fond du Lac, Wisconsin) P1, P3, P4
Shaun Tichenor (Brainerd, Minnesota) P1, P4

A complete schedule of events for the IPC World Championships can be found here: http://www.paralympic.org/sites/default ... update.pdf

For more information on the IPC World Championships, please visit http://www.paralympic.org/shooting.