SAGEN MADDALENA IS HEADING BACK TO FORT MOORE A SILVER MEDALIST


By bblouin
U.S. Army Sgt. Sagen Maddalena, Olympian and a Instructor/Shooter assigned to the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, earned the silver medal during the Women's 50m 3 Position Rifle Finals at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre, in Chateauroux, France Aug. 2, 2024.

The Team USA shooting team had two members of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit represented in air rifle for Paris 2024. Now, one of the Fort Moore stationed Soldiers is coming back with a silver medal. Both Sgt. Sagen Maddalena and Sgt. Ivan Roe entered individual and team competitions, with Maddalena earning a fourth-place finish for the 10-meter air rifle women’s event. However, she also claimed second place in the women's 50-meter rifle three-position shooting, ending a major American drought for the competition.

Sagen Maddalena: Soldier, Olympian, Medalist

Sagen Maddalena ended the longest sporting drought in a single Olympics when she won silver at Paris 2024. Her performance in the women's 50-meter rifle three-position shooting would see the American shooting team finally earn a medal during a seven-day dry spell. Such a wait hadn’t happened to Team USA since Seoul 1988, and it came after a close finish in fourth for Maddalena in Paris, as well as a spell of disappointment during Tokyo 2020. It was in Tokyo 2020 that Maddalena would first represent the United States in the Olympics. She would place fifth in the women’s 50-meter three-position rifle event while there. Another close finish that represented us well, however, was Paris 2024. This was a redemption. The Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games is also the first time Sgt. Maddalena competed in an air rifle event at an Olympic level. For Sgt. Ivan Roe, Paris 2024 was his first Olympic Games, where he would place 34th, tied with fellow American Rylan Kissell, for the men’s event. Together. Sgt. Maddalena and Sgt. Roe earned 18th place playing on the mixed team air rifle event while the American team of Mary Tucker and Kissell placed 13th.

Maddalena’s Road to Paris 2024

Sagen Maddalena learned marksmanship basics from a 4-H club, patience from her grandfather, and discipline from the U.S. Army. Maddalena's love for shooting sports began in Groveland, California, where she joined a local 4-H shooting club. Her grandfather helped her develop patience and passion for the sport. She then joined the California Grizzly’s Service Rifle Team and later the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Rifle Team. At UAF, Maddalena earned eight All-American titles in both air rifle and smallbore shooting and a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Management. As she approached graduation in 2018, she decided to continue her shooting career and joined the U.S. Army to push herself further with the hopes of making the Olympics. After completing Army Basic Combat Training in March 2019, Maddalena trained to become a cannon crew member, operating howitzer cannons.

Sagen Maddalena Creates Better Soldiers

Her work as an Olympian is solidifying what the Army already knew—Sagen Maddalena is a great shooter. So much so, that her role with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) at Fort Moore, Georgia has placed her as not only a competitive shooter but also a Marksmanship Instructor for USAMU’s International Rifle Team. The USAMU used to be competition for Maddalena and now, she is working to better Soldiers who are a part of the group. Created by President Eisenhower, the USAMU was created to win international events during a time when the Soviet Union was dominating. Today, the work Sagen Maddalena and the USAMU do advances small arms marksmanship training for Soldiers while also helping boost recruitment for America’s largest service branch. Suggested reads:


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