The 2011 Pan American Games: One Day, Two Medals

Men's 10m Air Pistol Gold Medalist, Daryl Szarenski

The USA Shooting Team exploded onto the scene at the Pan American Games with two medals and one quota the first day of competition. The team secured a very important pistol quota that enables the USA Shooting Team to send two Men’s 10m Air Pistol athletes to the London Olympic Games in 2012.

Two-time Olympian Daryl Szarenski (Seale, Ala.) led the shooting team to its first victory of the Pan American Games. Sergeant First Class Szarenski, a member of the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete Program, solidly secured the first position in the final with 583 out of 600 total points. His world-class score not only set a Pan American Games record, but gave him a six-point lead headed into the final. With 98.7 points in the final, Szarenski set yet another Pan American Games record for total points with 681.7 points. “It was a good match. I am proud to have won an Olympic quota for my country and I would like to thank the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete Program and Team USA for supporting me and giving me the opportunity to win.” The silver medalist was Daniel Roger of Trinidad with 577 match points and 99.1 points in the final. Julio Almeida won the bronze medal with 575 match points and 100.2 points in the final. Teammate Will Brown (Twins Falls, Id.) shot 575 qualification points and 97.4 points in the final to finish fifth overall.

Women's 10m Air Pistol Bronze Medalist, Sandra Uptagrafft (left)

Sandra Uptagrafft (Phenix City, Ala.) won the Women’s 10m Air Pistol bronze medal. She shot 379 match points and 97.3 points in the final for a total of 476.3 total points. “I was disappointed that we missed the quota, but it was still an honor to represent America on the podium. I’m looking forward to the opportunity for a quota in Women’s 25m Sport Pistol,” said a determined Uptagrafft. The gold medal was a battle to the final shot-Canada’s Dorothy Ludwig topped Maribel Pineda of Venezula. Ludwig entered in the final in the second position but overtook Pineda’s four point lead with a strong final of 96.8 points. Ludwig was ecstatic to win not only the gold, but a quota for her country with 476.8 total points. Pineda finished with 92.7 points in the final for 476.7 total points and the silver medal. American Teammate Teresa Meyer (Dearborn, Mich.) narrowly missed the final with 371 match points. The air gun action continues Oct. 17 with finals in Men’s and Women’s 10m Air Rifle.

Live streaming of the Pan American Games can be found at http://bit.ly/q4UwBR and http://es.pn/mW8QeW. For results and news, please visit USA Shooting’s Website, Facebook and Twitter.

About USA Shooting:
USA Shooting, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, was chartered by the United States Olympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the sport of shooting in April 1995. USA Shooting’s mission is to prepare American athletes to win Olympic medals, promote the shooting sports throughout the U.S. and govern the conduct of international shooting in the country. Check us out on the web at www.usashooting.org and on Twitter at twitter.com/USAShooting.