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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ali Weisz won the Gold Medal Thursday in Women's 10m Air Rifle at the 2019 Pan American Games.
Photo by: Team USA
Ole Miss Rifle Alum Brings Home Gold and World of Experience
8/4/2019 | Rifle
Ali Weisz Accomplished Three Goals at Pan American Games
LIMA, Peru – An impressive run came to end Saturday for Ole Miss Rifle graduate Ali Weisz at the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru. Weisz and Team USA Shooting teammate Tim Sherry finished fourth in the 10-Meter Air Rifle Mixed Team event.
The pair ended with 390.6 points in the Finals, just 0.4 behind third place at the second cut, but can leave proudly knowing both will be bringing home gold medals from prior events. Additionally, Weisz earned an all-important Olympic Quota spot on Thursday and brought home a world of experience.
Team USA Shooting, which includes rifle, pistol, and shotgun (skeet and trap), was in search of 10 Olympic Quota spots. The team earned seven and were able to max out the number of athletes each squad could bring to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for rifle and shotgun.
On Saturday, Team USA went one-two in Qualification as Minden Miles and Lucas Kozeniesky earned 838 points, while Weisz and Sherry tallied 834.6. The scores advanced both duos to the five-team Finals and led a field of 22 teams from the Western Hemisphere at Las Palmas Air Base.
The American teams would survive the first cut, but a big 41.3 by Edson Ramirez and Gabriela Martínez of Team Mexico was enough to pass Weisz and Sherry's 40.4 during the second cut. Mexico eventually finished with the Bronze Medal.
Argentina's Fernanda Maria Russo Romero and Marcelo Julian Gutierrez won the Gold Medal (499.2), giving Miles and Kozeniesky the Silver (498.5).
On Thursday, Weisz became the first current or former Ole Miss Rifle athlete to medal at the Pan American Games. Her 249.4 was a Pan American Finals record for 10-Meter Women's Air Rifle.
Weisz finished high enough to earn an Olympic Quota alongside fellow rifle teammates Ginny Thrasher (Women's Three-Position Rifle) and Kozeniesky (Men's Air Rifle) at the Games.
Saturday continued a season that has already seen Weisz gain experience for Team USA in International Shooting Sport Federation Rifle World Cup matches all over the world. She also won her second Air Rifle national title at the Rifle/Pistol National Championships in June.
Up next for Team USA is the ISSF World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Aug. 26-Sept. 11. The team will then shift focus to qualifiers in the year ahead that will determine who competes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The XVIII Pan American Games run through August 11 with more than 6,500 athletes from 41 nations in North and South America. A total of 61 sporting disciplines will be contested. Team USA took home a total of 265 medals in 2015. The nation has topped the medal table 16 straight times at the event.
RAPID FIRE WITH 2017 OLE MISS RIFLE GRADUATE ALI WEISZ
What was the feeling like winning the Gold Medal for Team USA Thursday?
"It was a rush of emotions! Overwhelming honor and pride combined with general happiness and relief. Team USA Shooting come to Peru with jobs to do (earn our second quota spot so we could max the number of people we can take to the Olympics) so there was a lot of outside pressures and expectations to deal with leading up to and throughout the event."
What has been the key to your success this season?
"Unfortunately, I don't think there's a single key to my success this season. It's really a combination of many keys. The usual hard work, determination and drive, but I do think a big key is staying grounded in the things that I can control."
What has it been like traveling the world to compete for Team USA?
"Traveling and representing Team USA has been a blessing! It has always been a dream of mine to be able to do this. I have learned so much both on and off the range. I'm big on experience so being able to experience so much of the world while competing in the sport I love is incredible."
How many athletes can Team USA bring to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for rifle?
"So now that we've maxed our quotas we can take up to four women and four men for rifle! Two in each event, 10-Meter Air Rifle and 50-Meter Smallbore. It (now) just depends on the selection matches in the next year."
For more information on Ole Miss Rifle, follow the Rebels on Facebook (OleMissRifle), Twitter (@OleMissRifle), Instagram (@OleMissRifle), and at olemisssports.com.
The pair ended with 390.6 points in the Finals, just 0.4 behind third place at the second cut, but can leave proudly knowing both will be bringing home gold medals from prior events. Additionally, Weisz earned an all-important Olympic Quota spot on Thursday and brought home a world of experience.
Team USA Shooting, which includes rifle, pistol, and shotgun (skeet and trap), was in search of 10 Olympic Quota spots. The team earned seven and were able to max out the number of athletes each squad could bring to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for rifle and shotgun.
On Saturday, Team USA went one-two in Qualification as Minden Miles and Lucas Kozeniesky earned 838 points, while Weisz and Sherry tallied 834.6. The scores advanced both duos to the five-team Finals and led a field of 22 teams from the Western Hemisphere at Las Palmas Air Base.
The American teams would survive the first cut, but a big 41.3 by Edson Ramirez and Gabriela Martínez of Team Mexico was enough to pass Weisz and Sherry's 40.4 during the second cut. Mexico eventually finished with the Bronze Medal.
Argentina's Fernanda Maria Russo Romero and Marcelo Julian Gutierrez won the Gold Medal (499.2), giving Miles and Kozeniesky the Silver (498.5).
On Thursday, Weisz became the first current or former Ole Miss Rifle athlete to medal at the Pan American Games. Her 249.4 was a Pan American Finals record for 10-Meter Women's Air Rifle.
Weisz finished high enough to earn an Olympic Quota alongside fellow rifle teammates Ginny Thrasher (Women's Three-Position Rifle) and Kozeniesky (Men's Air Rifle) at the Games.
Saturday continued a season that has already seen Weisz gain experience for Team USA in International Shooting Sport Federation Rifle World Cup matches all over the world. She also won her second Air Rifle national title at the Rifle/Pistol National Championships in June.
Up next for Team USA is the ISSF World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Aug. 26-Sept. 11. The team will then shift focus to qualifiers in the year ahead that will determine who competes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The XVIII Pan American Games run through August 11 with more than 6,500 athletes from 41 nations in North and South America. A total of 61 sporting disciplines will be contested. Team USA took home a total of 265 medals in 2015. The nation has topped the medal table 16 straight times at the event.
RAPID FIRE WITH 2017 OLE MISS RIFLE GRADUATE ALI WEISZ
What was the feeling like winning the Gold Medal for Team USA Thursday?
"It was a rush of emotions! Overwhelming honor and pride combined with general happiness and relief. Team USA Shooting come to Peru with jobs to do (earn our second quota spot so we could max the number of people we can take to the Olympics) so there was a lot of outside pressures and expectations to deal with leading up to and throughout the event."
What has been the key to your success this season?
"Unfortunately, I don't think there's a single key to my success this season. It's really a combination of many keys. The usual hard work, determination and drive, but I do think a big key is staying grounded in the things that I can control."
What has it been like traveling the world to compete for Team USA?
"Traveling and representing Team USA has been a blessing! It has always been a dream of mine to be able to do this. I have learned so much both on and off the range. I'm big on experience so being able to experience so much of the world while competing in the sport I love is incredible."
How many athletes can Team USA bring to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for rifle?
"So now that we've maxed our quotas we can take up to four women and four men for rifle! Two in each event, 10-Meter Air Rifle and 50-Meter Smallbore. It (now) just depends on the selection matches in the next year."
For more information on Ole Miss Rifle, follow the Rebels on Facebook (OleMissRifle), Twitter (@OleMissRifle), Instagram (@OleMissRifle), and at olemisssports.com.
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