Lones wigger

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Lones Wesley Wigger Jr. (born August 15, 1937 in Great Falls (Montana) , † December 14, 2017 in Colorado Springs ) was an American marksman .

Wigger grew up on a farm in Montana and learned to shoot with a small bore rifle from his father at the age of ten . After graduating from high school, he joined the American Army and after eight months was able to embark on a career as an officer. He was transferred to Fort Benning in Georgia and assigned to the sniper unit, where he could intensify his training.

After winning the silver medal at the Pan American Games in 1963, Wigger left the army and went back to Montana, where he began studying. But after six months the army convinced him to return to active duty and reassigned him to the sniper unit at Fort Benning.

At the beginning of 1964, Wigger visited the factory of the German arms manufacturer JG Anschütz in Ulm during a training period in Europe and bought his own rifle. With this weapon he was able to qualify for the American Olympic team for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo . At the games, he then won the gold medal in the small bore three-position battle and the silver medal in the small bore small bore discipline.

In 1967 and 1971, Wigger took part in the Vietnam War twice. At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City he was again part of the American team, but was only able to take 25th place in the small-caliber prone fight.

At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich , Wigger was Olympic champion in the free rifle discipline . Since this discipline was deleted from the Olympic program after Munich, Wigger is the last Olympic champion in this competition.

Lones Wigger retired in the rank of Lt. Colonel out of the army.

His daughter Deena was a member of the American rifle team at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and his son Ron is the rifle trainer at the United States Military Academy in West Point.

Lones Wigger died on the evening of December 14, 2017 at the age of 80 from complications from pancreatic cancer .

swell

  • Volker Kluge : Summer Olympic Games. The Chronicle III. Mexico City 1968 - Los Angeles 1984. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-328-00741-5 .
  • US Army

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lones Wigger: Legend Lost. USA Shooting, accessed December 16, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Wigger, Lones
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wigger, Lones Wesley (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American marksman
DATE OF BIRTH August 15, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Great Falls, Montana
DATE OF DEATH December 14, 2017
Place of death Colorado Springs