U.S. Army Sgt. Glenn Eller III competes in the finals for double trap at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Shotgun Team Trials, May 19, 2012, at the Tucson Trap & Skeet Club in Arizona. His first-place finish earned him a spot on Team USA in London. U.S. Army photo by Tim Hipps
It was a disappointing day in London today for our military Olympians as shotgun shooters Staff Sgt. Josh Richmond and Sgt. Glenn Eller fell short of their high expectations in Olympic double trap shooting at the London Olympics.
The two Soldiers were primed and pumped to stand on the podium together, but it was almost as if they got ambushed along the way. Richmond finished in 16th place with a score of 131, and Eller was 22nd after shooting a 125.
Army Staff Sgt. Joshua Richmond.USA Shooting, Men’s Double Trap
Richmond’s father won him his first shotgun at a trap competition when his mother was pregnant with him. He fired his first shot at age five and began shooting competitively by age 11. Now 26, Richmond is a member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit on Fort Benning, Ga., and is taking online courses through Troy State University, where he is studying general education. He enjoys bass fishing, hunting, horseback riding and anything outdoors. He resides in Hillsgrove, Pa.
“It was one of my toughest days ever,” said Richmond, the world’s top-ranked double-trap shooter entering the London Games. “I had a couple of problems with my hold points and missed a lot more first targets than I normally do. I just never got a feel for this range.
“I was chasing my tail all day trying to figure it out and put a run together. The score wasn’t the one I was looking for.”
Hoping to ride the momentum created by U.S. shooters Sgt. Vincent Hancock and Kim Rhode, who both won gold medals in Olympic skeet shooting this week, the USAMU duo came out of the gate slow and was forced to rally from an early deficit.
“After my slow start, I came out the second round, had a game plan, and tried to execute it,” Eller said. “But I missed three right out of the gate and at that point if I [shot perfectly] I may have made the final, but when you are down that many [winning a medal] is not going to happen.”
Army Sgt. Glenn Eller. USA Shooting, Men’s Double Trap
An Olympic gold medal recipient, the 2012 Summer Olympics in London will be Eller’s fourth time participating in the games. A native of Houston, the 30-year-old was the first American to win the prestigious British Open Sporting Clay title. In his spare time, he enjoys hunting, golf and also was involved in track in high school. Eller is a member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit on Fort Benning, Ga.
As a four-time Olympian and 2008 gold medalist in the event, Eller said his experience should have been an advantage. He correctly predicted beforehand the exact score he needed to secure a spot in the final. He remained baffled on why he couldn’t dig himself out of the hole.
“I have built myself up a bag of tricks over the years, like ‘if this goes wrong, this is what I have to do to fix it’ and you fix it,” Eller said. “Well, I didn’t have anything in my bag of tricks today. I didn’t know how to get through what was going on.”
Great Britain’s Peter Robert Russell Wilson won the gold medal while Hakan Dahlby of Sweden rallied from the sixth spot to win the silver medal and Russia’s Vasily Mosin won the bronze medal.
Army.mil adds:
Despite being a four-time Olympian, Eller is only 30. Richmond, 26, said there’s no reason both Soldiers should not return to the sport’s grandest stage in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“This isn’t the end of the road, it’s just the beginning,” Richmond said. “I have had success in Rio. I won at the Pan Am Games [in 2007] there, and it is a place that I am very comfortable shooting at, so we’ll see what happens in the next four years.
“Overall, I learned quite a bit from this experience. I am definitely going to be a contender for the 2016 Games. I caught the Olympic bug.”
In the first day of Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol, [Staff Sgt.] Keith Sanderson, the current Olympic record holder, shot 288 points for 14th place. “After getting rid of the day one jitters, both athletes will rely on their Olympic experience to propel them to success tomorrow.”
The qualification round continues tomorrow from 10:30 a.m. to 1 pm in the 25-meter shooting hall at the Royal Artillery Barracks. Finals of the event will begin at 2:30 pm in London.
As the smallbore rifle events get underway tomorrow, “the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) will be well-represented in Friday’s start to the smallbore (.22 caliber) rifle events. After a 16-year-absence from Olympic competition, [Army Sgt. 1st Class] Eric Uptagrafft (Phenix City, Ala.) is set for an Olympic return and will compete in the Prone event alongside his AMU teammate and Olympic rookie [Army Staff Sgt.] Michael McPhail (Darlington, Wis.). McPhail and Uptagrafft have demonstrated their confidence with this range after scoring two finals appearances including a bronze medal for McPhail at the April “London Prepares” test event. This duo has secured 11 World Cup medals since 2008, according to USA Shooting.
The following are the profiles and photos of the two military Olympians who have not been “featured” yet.
Army Sgt. Spenser Mango. USA Wrestling, Men’s 55 Kg Greco-Roman
A native of St. Louis, Mo., Mango, 26, competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he qualified for the quarterfinals before he was eliminated. He finished eighth. Mango attends Northern Michigan University where he is studying physical education. His brother, Ryan, also is an accomplished wrestler, winning cadet nationals in freestyle and Greco-Roman in 2006.
Army Spc. Justin Lester. USA Wrestling, Men’s 66 Kg, Greco-Roman
A native of Akron, Ohio, Lester has a long string of wrestling championships in his portfolio. He is a senior education-science major at Northern Michigan University, where he trains at the Olympics Education Center there. Lester is ranked No. 1 by Team USA in the 66 kg/145 lb. weight class for Greco-Roman wrestling. He enjoys playing chess, fishing, watching television and cooking in his spare time.
Photos: Department of Defense
