Wednesday, October 25, 2023.- The United States delegation emerged as the big winner in this Wednesday morning session at the Poligono de Tiro de Pudahuel, winning gold and silver in the female's 3 x 20 rifle shooting event.

With a score of 458.4, breaking the Pan American record, American Mary Tucker secured the gold medal, followed by her compatriot Sagen Maddalena, who earned silver with a score of 457.2. Finally, the bronze went to Canadian Shannon Westlake, who scored 446.5, and she also earned a place at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Clearly emotional after her victory, Tucker appreciated her experience in Santiago: "It means a lot. I've been working on my technique, and my air rifle shooting has been more prominent in the last year, so I've been trying to bring all my events up to the same level. Having this medal shows that I'm on the right path and gives me a lot of confidence."

Regarding breaking the Pan American record, Tucker was quite surprised: "It's crazy to have achieved this in my first Pan American Games. I hope to continue participating in other Pan American Games to keep breaking records."

Without limiting her excitement, she described her experiences in these days: "This experience has been great, the Pan American Village is amazing, and there are vibes very similar to the Olympics. It has been an incredible experience, especially thinking about Paris 2024. It's always great to be in that kind of environment, see all the other countries, their level of competition, and interact with each other. Additionally, the volunteers have been great. It has been very successful, not only for the United States but also for Chile as the host."
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Maddalena, who also set a world record in the qualification stage with a score of 596-40x, stated: "It's incredible to have achieved a world record and see my name alongside other great shooters who have had that achievement. It has been a great experience, and the participation of the audience has been a great inspiration. The energy in the finals has been fantastic. It has been a very good experience in Chile."

Westlake, who won the bronze and qualified for Paris 2024, also had plenty of room to celebrate. "What I set out to do, I have achieved. I'm very excited to represent my country and share that with my team, my family, and all the people who have come to support. My thought was that I wanted to stick to my routine and the things I've trained for in the last months and years (haha), and that's what I was thinking: to make my best shot and achieve it. Fortunately, it went well," she concluded.

Patricio Echagüe y Arturo Hernández / Santiago 2023 via Photosport
Photo: Jorge Loyola / Santiago 2023 via Photosport