COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (April 9, 2019)
The first medals of the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships (NJOSC) for Rifle and Pistol were awarded today in the Men’s Three-Position Rifle competition at the Olympic Shooting Center in Colorado Springs.
Winning the gold medal today was defending NJOSC champion and Air Force Academy freshman Peter Fiori, Jr. (Lebanon, New Jersey). As this is a selection match for the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup in Germany this summer, all athletes shot two Qualification matches and were selected for the Final based on cumulative points. Additional points (eight for first, seven for second and so on) were awarded based on finish in the Final. By a dominating 14-point margin, Fiori had already locked down the gold, even before the Finals. During his second day of Qualification, Fiori shot a score of 1178 – a world-class score at the Open (adult) level and a new National Junior Record to give him the points for the win.
“My second day of Qualification was 23-points higher than the first!” said Fiori. “I have no idea what was working. I had a test at 6:30 in the morning that day and was really tired, and I just kind of showed up to the match and it just worked! I don’t know. It’s a personal best too, so maybe I need to take more tests at 6:30 in the morning?” Fiori joked.
Also sealing the silver medal before the Final was Matthew Sanchez (Tampa, Florida) with a two-day cumulative score of 2325. Sanchez will leave for China next week to compete in the ISSF World Cup in Beijing.
The bronze medal was determined by finish in today’s final and went to University of Alaska Fairbanks freshman
