GUADALAJARA, Mexico (November 7, 2018)
Not only did Alexis Lagan pick up her first international gold medal today at the 12th Championship of the Americas (CAT) at the Club Cinegetico Jalisciense in Guadalajara, Mexico, she also won the United States an Olympic quota in the event for the 2020 Olympic Games.
2012 Olympian Sandra Uptagrafft (Phenix City, Alabama) also won the bronze medal in the event.
Lagan (Boulder City, Nevada) entered the Final with the third-highest Qualification score of 580, which included a world-class score of 295 in the Rapid series. Once in the Final, Lagan didn’t pull to the front of the pack until over halfway through to set an Americas Finals record of 29 hits. Uptagrafft was eliminated in the bronze-medal position with 23 hits.
“I’m so excited about today!” said Lagan. “It was a very interesting Final with Sandra and I up there and getting the reverse. It was so neat to get two US people on the podium and to get that quota for the USA. I know that this means a lot for our Pistol program and I’m very excited to represent them in this way. I know this quota is just one step closer to earning a ticket to Tokyo!” Earning an Olympic quota in competition ensures the country a spot in that particular event, not necessarily the athlete. Athletes will earn Olympic Team slots via a trials system established by USA Shooting.
Katelyn Abeln (Douglasville, Georgia) finished in 12th place with a score of 563, just one point out of a potential Finals berth. With their combined scores in Qualification, Lagan, Uptagrafft and Abeln earned a team gold medal.
It’s been a big week for Lagan, who had
