The shooting portion of the competition will take place July 15 – 21. Coming off a very successful 2003 Pan American Games, the U.S. Shooting Team is looking to capture titles in each of the Olympic disciplines. At the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the U.S. Shotgun Team took home all of the gold medals in the shotgun events, while the U.S. Rifle Team captured a medal in every rifle event. The pistol team captured two medals at the 2003 Pan Am Games.

The U.S. will not only be looking to bring home hardware, but but also to secure the required quota slot positions needed for U.S. athletes to compete in the 2008 Olympic Games. Team USA still needs to secure quota slots in five pistol events (women’s sport pistol, men’s and women’s air pistol, men’s free pistol, men’s rapid fire pistol) as well as two rifle events (women’s air rifle, men’s prone).

Among the nine Olympians on the roster is three-time shotgun medalist Kim Rhode. Rhode holds the Pan American Games title from both 2003 and 1999 in women’s double trap, an event that has been removed from the Olympic program. As a result, Rhode has made the switch to skeet shooting and is seeking to secure her fourth medal in four trips to the Olympic Games. In total, she has earned two Olympic gold medals (1996, 2004) and a bronze (2000) in women’s double trap.

A member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU), James Graves will travel with the Pan Am squad in shotgun as well. He has served on four Olympic Teams (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004), winning a bronze during the 2000 Olympic Games in men’s skeet. He will be joined by fellow Olympian and retired military shooter Brett Erickson, who competed in the 1992, 1996 and 2004 Olympic Games. Erickson’s Pan American Games experience has earned him two silver medals in trap (1991, 1995).

Fellow AMU athlete, Jason Parker is the reigning Pan American Games champion in the men’s three-position rifle. He will defend his title in three-position, but will also go to the firing line in air rifle in Rio de Janeiro. Most recently, Parker has been traveling on the World Cup circuit working to add to his international experience as he searches for his second Olympic berth. He placed fifth at the 2000 Olympic Games in men’s air rifle.

This season has been a whirlwind for Tom Tamas, another member of the USAMU. He won the silver in men’s prone at World Cup Sydney, and snatched the bronze in the event at World Cup Munich. He returns to the Pan American Games as the victor in men’s prone from 2003, and Team USA’s quota place winner for the 2004 Olympic Games. He is currently among the list of athletes who have secured an Olympic quota for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Another 2008 quota slot winner, riflewoman Jamie Beyerle leads the USA into the women’s competition at the 2007 Pan American Games. Beyerle will be firing in the women’s three-position event. She will be joined by new comer Amanda Furrer, a rising star on the U.S. squad who earned her place on the National Team earlier this year.

The U.S. Pistol Team will be represented by five-time Olympian John McNally, the athlete with the most Olympic experience on the U.S. Pan American Games Shooting Team. He was a member of the 2003 Pan American Games squad, and was crowned the champion of the 2007 Pistol Spring Selection Match in April. He will be eligible to shoot for an Olympic quota slot for the USA, which is required for any nation to send athletes to the Olympic Games.

The most recent quota place winner for the USA, U.S. Army athlete Keith Sanderson, will join McNally on the line in Rio. A member of the World Class Athlete Program, designed for U.S. soldiers who are elite level athletes, Sanderson is the only U.S. pistol shooter to earn a medal on the World Cup circuit this season. He secured both the bronze and the Olympic quota for the USA in Munich on June 1.

For the ladies pistol shooters, Olympic veteran Elizabeth Callahan is on the roster. A three-time Olympian (1992, 1996, 2004), she will shoot in the women’s air pistol competition. She is the reining 2006 National Champion in women’s sport pistol, and the 2006 bronze medalist in women’s air pistol.

For Pan American Games shooting news and results throughout the competition, please visit www.usashooting.org.

U.S. Pan American Games Shooting Team Roster:

Rifle Team
Athlete Name, Hometown, Current Residence, Event(s)
Jamie Beyerle, Lebanon, Pa., Colorado Springs, Colo., women’s three-position rifle
Amanda Furrer, Spokane, Wash., Spokane, Wash., women’s three-position rifle
Jessica Jasis, Dychsburg, Ky., Dychsburg, Ky., women’s air rifle
Michael McPhail, Darlington, Wisc., Phenix City, Ala., men’s three-position, prone rifle
Jason Parker, Omaha, Neb., Cusseta, Ga., men’s three-position, air rifle
Matt Rawlings, Wharton, Texas, Wharton, Texas, men’s air rifle
Amy Sowash, Richmond, Ky., Colorado Springs, Colo., women’s air rifle
Tom Tamas, Columbus, Ga., Columbus, Ga., men’s prone rifle

Pistol Team
Athlete Name, Hometown, Current Residence, Event(s)
Vladimira Borisova, Elgin, Ill., Elgin, Ill., women’s sport pistol
Elizabeth Callahan, Columbia, S.C., Pawleys Island, S.C., women’s air pistol
John McNally, Heath, Texas, Heath, Texas, men’s rapid fire pistol
Teresa Meyer, Dearborn, Mich., Dearborn, Mich., women’s air pistol
Thomas Rose, Central Point, Ore., Columbus, Ga., men’s air pistol
Keith Sanderson, Plymouth, Mass., Colorado Springs, Colo., men’s rapid fire pistol
Daryl Szarenski, Saginaw, Mich., Seale, Ala., men’s free pistol
Jason Turner, Rochester, N.Y., Colorado Springs, Colo., men’s free pistol
Sandra Uptagrafft, Los Angeles, Calif., Firestone, Colo., women’s sport pistol

Shotgun Team
Athlete Name, Hometown, Current Residence, Event(s)
Corey Cogdell, Eagle River, Alaska, Colorado Springs, Colo., women’s trap
Haley Dunn, Ottumwa, Iowa, Eddyville, Iowa, women’s skeet
Bret Erickson, Bennington, N.E., Muenster, Texas, men’s trap
James Graves, Laurel, Miss., Cusseta, Ga., men’s skeet
Vincent Hancock, Eatonton, Ga., Eatonton, Ga., men’s skeet
Michael Herman, Dayton, Wyo., Peyton, Colo., men’s trap
Jeff Holguin, Yorba Linda, Calif., Ft. Benning, Ga., men’s double trap
Kimberly Rhode, El Monte, Calif., El Monte, Calif., women’s skeet
Josh Richmond, Hillsgrove, Pa., Ft. Mitchell, Ala., men’s double trap