By Brittany Nelson, USAS Public Relations & Communications Manager
COLO SPRGS, CO (April 26, 2023) – Remington Smith, of Ashburn, Georgia, earned the title of Junior Olympic Champion in Men’s Air Pistol and Abbie Leverett, of Bainbridge, Georgia, earned the title of Junior Olympic Champion in Women’s Sport Pistol April 23.
The champions competed in the 2023 Pistol Junior Olympic Championships at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“I am very thankful to God for the opportunity to come and compete,” said Smith. “It was very humbling.”
Smith was among eight competitors who qualified for the finals. He beat out Joseph Koh, who finished in second place, and Mark Shen, who finished in third place.
Smith now has a total of two Junior Olympic Champion titles. He won his first title at the 2021 competition.
“I was on my toes more at this year’s finals and I felt like I shot better,” said Smith. “I enjoyed the pressure this year.”
Leverett earned her championship title after beating out Riya Salian, who earned silver, and Ada Korkhin, who earned third. Salian and Korkhin will be joining Leverett at The Ohio State University in the fall where they will compete on the school’s pistol team.
“It felt great to win,” said Leverett. “This was my last year as a junior shooter, and I am so grateful for the experiences from these matches throughout the years.”
Leverett comes from a family of competitive shooters. Her two brothers also compete on The Ohio State University Pistol team.
“I really enjoy that shooting is such a family friendly sport,” said Leverett. “The shooting community as a whole has been so welcoming and it is very special to me.”
The Junior Olympic competition runs from April 20-27 and includes Men’s and Women’s Air Pistol, Men’s and Women’s Sport Pistol, and Men’s Rapid-Fire Pistol. Athletes from all over the country are shooting in the annual USA Shooting competition.
The competition also decided the Men’s Air Pistol and Women’s Sport Pistol teams for the 2023 International Shooting Sports Federation Junior World Championships in Changwon, Korea, July 14-18. The following athletes qualified:
Men’s Air Pistol: Remington Smith, Mark Shen, Marcus Klemp, Nathan Bae, and Joseph Koh.
Women’s Sport Pistol: Ada Korkhin, Abbie Leverett, Riya Salian, Emily Yoder, and Katherine Ahn.
Medals were also awarded in the following categories:
Men’s U18 Air Pistol: Marcus Klemp, gold; Nathan Bae, silver; Ammar Bagasra, bronze.
Men’s U15 Air Pistol: William Regala, gold; Nathan Lim, silver; Blake Hankins, bronze.
Women’s U18 Sport Pistol: Jenny Noh, gold; Katherine Ahn, silver; Lucia Kim, bronze.
Women’s U15 Sport Pistol: Saanvi Singh, gold; Eva Allen, silver; Jia Lee, bronze.
All official results: https://usashooting.org/get-involved/events/
Purchase photos of the event here: https://geosnapshot.com/e/2023-pistol-jr-olympics/20554
View awards ceremony photos here: https://bit.ly/3Aud5cC