New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Congratulates Sandra Fong On Qualifying For Olympics

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Sandra Fong Headshot

TROY, NY (06/02/2008)(readMedia)-- The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association congratulates 18 year-old Manhattanite Sandra Fong on qualifying for the Beijing Olympic Games. Sandra secured her Olympic slot by placing second in the May U.S. Olympic Team Trials, and will be participating in the three-position smallbore rifle event. Three-position smallbore rifle is a demanding discipline that requires physical conditioning, polished shooting technique and intense concentration. Competitors fire .22 caliber rifles at a bullseye 50 meters (about 55 yards) away. This bullseye is less than 4½ inches in diameter, and the all-important ten ring is less than ½ inch in diameter. Twenty shots are fired in each position: prone (lying down), kneeling and standing.

Sandra is proud to represent her country (and New York State) at the Olympics. "I am training very hard in order that I may represent New York State and the United States well in Beijing" she reports. After the Olympics Sandra will join older sister Abigaile at Princeton.

Sandra comes from a competitive shooting family. Her father, Yuman, a surgeon and researcher at the Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute, taught Sandra and sisters Abigail and Danielle to shoot. He apparently taught them very well: Danielle will represent the U.S. at the Beijing Paralympics this summer, and Abigaile is the current National Civilian Champion in NRA three-position smallbore rifle. When asked about his coaching activities Dr. Fong was characteristically gracious:

"The girls have been successful partly because of how supportive everyone in the shooting community has been. Fellow shooters throughout the state have always been generous with technical advice and encouragement. The State Association, smallbore director Chuck Meyer, and junior director Jennifer Canfield have been enormously supportive of all the juniors for Camp Perry and for other national tournaments. Because of this, Sandy and many other junior shooters have grown not only into successful competitors, but also responsible citizens."

The NYSRPA wishes Sandra a successful Olympic experience, and continued success to her sisters.

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