Colorado Springs, CO -(Ammoland)- Nearly 40 pistol competitors will compete for World Cup slots in Free, Sport and Rapid Fire Pistol at the Selection Match Tuesday through Friday at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
This Selection Match will determine the Free, Sport and Rapid Fire Pistol competitors for the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Changwon, Korea April 8-16; as well as serve as Part 1 of the selection process for the pistol teams at the World Cups in Fort Benning, Georgia and Munich, Germany in May.
World Cups have added significance for these pistol athletes in 2015 as the four ISSF World Cups and the Pan American Games mark the remaining opportunities for athletes to earn quota slots for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. More information on selection procedures for 2015 World Cups and the 2016 Olympic Games teams can be found here.
There will be plenty of tested talent on the line this week as seven Olympians will compete for World Cup slots: Keith Sanderson (Colorado Springs, Colorado) and Emil Milev (Temple Terrace, Florida) in Rapid Fire Pistol, Jason Turner (Rochester, New York), Brian Beaman (Selby, South Dakota) and Nick Mowrer (Butte, Montana) in Free Pistol and Sandra Uptagrafft (Phenix City, Alabama) and Brenda Silva (Snowflake, Arizona) in Sport Pistol.
2014 World Championship Team members James Henderson (Midland, Georgia) and Greg Markowski (Columbus, Georgia) of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit should also prove strong in Free Pistol, along with Enkelejda Shehaj (Naples, Florida) in Sport Pistol. Henderson and Markowski have already earned their slots to the Changwon World Cup in Air Pistol through their finishes at the Winter Airgun Championships in December in Colorado Springs.
Sport and Standard Pistol Junior World Champion Alex Chichkov (Temple Terrace, Florida) will shoot in the Rapid Fire Pistol event. At the ISSF World Championship in Granada, Spain last summer, Chichkov finished in eighth place in Junior Rapid Fire Pistol.
Match targets can be viewed live on the USA Shooting YouTube Channel.
View the Pistol Selection Match schedule here:
Competition begins tomorrow with Free and Sport Pistol Qualification rounds Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by a Final each day. Rapid Fire Pistol Qualification rounds will occur Thursday and Friday with a Final each day as well.
About ELEY
ELEY is a Proud Sponsor of the USA Shooting Rifle and Pistol Teams: ELEY Limited, manufacturer of the world’s most consistently accurate rimfire ammunition, has been the Official Sponsor and Official Supplier of .22 rimfire ammunition of the USA Shooting rifle and pistol teams since 2000.
For more information on ELEY and their products, please visit www.ELEY.co.uk.
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.