Sportspress Northwest offers another in a series of biographical sketches of athletes with significant ties to Washington in the Olympic Games.
Lance Bade (Vancouver) is the most recent Washingtonian to win a shooting medal (1996 Atlanta). Washington will be represented by two shooters in London.
2012 SHOOTING OLYMPIANS
AMANDA FURRER / Mead High School
BORN: Jan. 17, 1991, Spokane. RESIDENCE: Columbus, OH. SPORT: Rifle. EVENT: Women’s 50m rifle, three position. COUNTRY: USA. OLYMPICS (1st): 2012. HOW QUALIFIED: Won her competition at the Olympic Trials at Fort Benning, GA. in June. STATE CONNECTION: Spokane native, 2009 graduate of Mead High School.
Furrer started shooting at 11 as member of the Spokane Junior Rifle Team. Her sister, Lauren, was involved in shooting sports and Amanda wanted to be just like her. Shooting is a family sport and all compete together. Furrer’s dad shoots tactical matches and her mom shoots pistols. Furrer first qualified for the national team as a member of the 2007 Pan American roster at 16.
OLYMPICS: Alternate on the USA Shooting team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
CAREER: Won the bronze medal at the 2011 National Championships . . . Gold at the 2011 Spring Selection . . . Team gold at the 2010 World Championships . . . Finished sixth at the 2010 Championship of the Americas . . . Gold at the 2010 Junior Olympic Championships . . . Bronze at the 2009 Spring Selection . . . Silver at the 2009 Junior Olympic Championships . . . Gold at the Junior International Hopes match . . . Bronze medal at the Pan American Games . . . Gold at the Junior International Hopes Match.
PERSONAL: Currently a student in Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University . . . Majoring in finance and competing on the school’s rifle team . . . Enjoys anything outdoors . . . Loves to dance . . . Has worked as a barista at Starbucks.
ERIC UPTAGRAFFT/ Spokane
BORN: Feb. 16, 1966, Spokane. RESIDENCE: Phenix City, AL. SPORT: Rifle. EVENT: 50m Rifle Prone. COUNTRY: USA. OLYMPICS (2nd): 1996, 2012. HOW QUALIFIED: Olympic Trials at Fort Benning, GA. in June. STATE CONNECTION: Spokane native.
Army Sgt. First Class Eric Uptagrafft began his shooting career at 11. He joined the Foresteen Jr. Rifle Club in Spokane, where he was coached by Bill Havercroft. In 1993, Eric made the National Development Team and two years later made the National Team. Eric graduated from West Virginia University in 1995 with a bachelor of science in aerospace engineering. Eric has been a member of the National Team for nearly 20 years.
OLYMPICS: Finished 30th in prone at the 1996 Olympic Games.
CAREER — 2012: World Cup London, sixth place . . . World Cup Milan, fifth place. 2011: World Cup Final Wroclaw, Silver Medal (Prone) . . . World Cup Changwon, Silver Medal (Prone) . . . World Cup USA, fifth place (Prone) . . . World Cup Sydney, Silver Medal (Prone). 2010: World Championship, seventh place (Prone), Team Gold Medal . . . World Cup USA, Silver Medal (Prone) . . . World Cup Sydney, sixth place (Prone) . . . World Cup Beijing, Bronze Medal (Prone). 2009: World Cup Beijing, fifth place (Prone). 2006: World Championship, Team Gold Medal (Prone). 2003: Pan American Games, Silver Medal (3 Position). 2002: World Championship, Silver Medal (3 Position). 2001: Championship of the Americas, Silver Medalist (Prone), Bronze (Air).
PERSONAL: Married to National Pistol Team member Sandra Uptagrafft . . . Was deployed to Kuwait in January 2007 for seven months . . . Member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit . . . In the summer of 2011 deployed to Afghanistan.
SHOOTING MEDALS BY WASHINGTONIANS
GOLD: Matt Dryke (Sequim), skeet, 1984 Los Angeles; Launi Meili (Cheney), women’s small bore, three position, 1992 Barcelona. SILVER: None. BRONZE: Wanda Jewell (Eastern Washington University), women’s three-position rifle, 1984 Los Angeles; Lance Bade (Vancouver), trap, 1996 Atlanta.
Olympic Qualifiers
Athletes with connections to the state who have qualified (or been selected) to for Summer Olympic Games.
| Athlete | Sport | Gms. # | Country | State Connection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan Adrian | Swimming | 2 | USA | Bremerton native |
| Scott Baynes | Basketball | 1 | Australia | WSU grad |
| Sue Bird | Basketball | 3 | USA | Seattle Storm guard |
| Kim Butler | Basketball | 1 | G. Britain | Bellarmine Prep |
| Dave Calder | Rowing | 4 | Canada | University of Washington |
| Will Crothers | Rowing | 1 | Canada | University of Washington |
| Tyler Farrar | Cycling | 1 | USA | Wenatchee native |
| Amanda Furrer | Shooting | 1 | USA | Mead High, Spokane |
| Scott Gault | Rowing | 2 | USA | University of Washington |
| Rob Gibson | Rowing | 1 | Canada | University of Washington |
| Lauren Jackson | Basketball | 4 | Australia | Seattle Storm forward |
| Anthony Jacob | Rowing | 1 | Canada | University of Washington |
| Ebba Jungmark | Track | 2 | Sweden | WSU grad |
| Seth Kelsey | Fencing | 3 | Canada | Brush Prairie |
| Ariana Kukors | Swimming | 1 | USA | Auburn Mountainview |
| Meagan Kalmoe | Rowing | 2 | USA | University of Washington |
| Bernard Lagat | Track | 4 | USA | Washington State University |
| Giuseppe Lanzone | Rowing | 2 | USA | University of Washington |
| Amy LePeilbet | Soccer | 1 | USA | Spokane native |
| Adrienne Lyle | Equestrian | 1 | USA | University of Washington |
| Adrienne Martelli | Rowing | 1 | USA | University of Washington |
| Arielle Martin | Cycling | 1 | USA | Spanaway native |
| Conlin McCabe | Rowing | 1 | Canada | University of Washington |
| Tamari Miyashiro | Volleyball | 1 | USA | University of Washington |
| Haley Nemra | Track | 2 | Marshall Is. | Marys.-Pilchuck |
| Brett Newlin | Rowing | 2 | USA | University of Washington |
| Kara Patterson | Track | 2 | USA | Seattle native |
| Jennie Reed | Cycling | 3 | USA | Seattle native |
| Jarred Rome | Track | 2 | USA | Marys.-Pilchuck High |
| Janine Sandell | Volleyball | 1 | Great Britain | University of Washington |
| Hope Solo | Soccer | 2 | USA | University of Washington |
| Travis Stevens | Judo | 2 | USA | Bellevue native |
| Courtney Thompson | Volleyball | 1 | USA | University of Washington |
| Aretha Thurmond | Track | 4 | USA | University of Washington |
| Queen Underwood | Boxing | 1 | USA | Seattle resident |
| Eric Uptagrafft | Shooting | 1 | USA | Spokane resident |
| Tejay van Garderen | Cycling | 1 | USA | Tacoma native |
| Brad Walker | Track | 2 | USA | University of Washington |
| Mary Whipple | Rowing | 3 | USA | University of Washington |