Sagen Maddalena Earns Silver Olympic Medal: First U.S. Shooting Medal at Paris Games

By Brittany Nelson, USAS Public Relations & Communications Supervisor

CHATEAUROUX, France (Aug. 2, 2024) –Sagen Maddalena, of Groveland, California, earns silver in Girls’s 50m Smallbore Rifle Aug. 2 on the Paris 2024 Olympic Video games on the Chateauroux Capturing Rage in France. Maddalena earned the primary U.S. Olympic Capturing medal of the Paris 2024 Olympic Video games.

“That is actually particular,” mentioned Maddalena, a sergeant within the U.S. Military Marksmanship Unit. “There aren’t any phrases to explain the chance coming to achievement.”

Maddalena, the 2023 ISSF World Championship bronze medalist, had an impressive roller-coaster of a closing. She began off the three place closing sturdy in kneeling and inclined the place she constantly led the pack.

Going into the ultimate place of standing, Maddalena was in first place general. In her first collection of 5 photographs, she fired off an 8.1 and an 8.6, dropping her down from first place to fifth. After the second 5 shot collection in standing, the underside two athletes have been eradicated.

When requested how she shakes off unhealthy photographs, Maddalena talked about that she accepts making a mistake, is aware of to not dwell on the error, and trusts her course of and herself to get again on observe.

Athletes moved into single shot eliminations the place Maddalena shot an unbelievable 10.8, transferring her again as much as first place. Maddalena fluctuated between the highest three spots in the course of the single photographs and located herself in a shoot off with Qiongyue Zhang, of China, for third place. Maddalena shot a 9.9, beating Zhang’s 9.7, leaving China with the bronze.

Madalena secured her silver medal after Chiara Leone, of Switzerland took her closing shot and had an general rating 464.4, simply larger of Maddalena’s 463.

Maddalena, a College of Alaska Fairbanks alumni, positioned fifth in Girls’s 50m Smallbore on the Tokyo 2020 Video games, the place she made her Olympic debut. The crowds in Tokyo have been minimal dude to the COVID-19 pandemic, a transparent distinction to the gang within the finals corridor right now.

“It was actually overestimated in a great way,” Maddalena mentioned. “To shoot a great shot and listen to the stands erupt was superior. It pushed me a bit of bit.”

View official outcomes right here.

The U.S. Olympic taking pictures group is wanting so as to add extra medals to their rely.  View the total schedule of the Paris 2024 Olympic Video games right here.

Observe @USAShooting on Instagram, Fb, and X to remain updated because the group competes in Paris 2024.