Precision marksmen excel with silver at World Champs

Rifle shooting
Tielman Van Lill
  • 2 Days Ago 17 September 2024
Team Namibia has made history at the 2024 International Precision Rifle Federation World Championships held at the Cameo Shooting Centre in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Competing against 22 countries in the open category, Namibia has secured a hugely impressive second place behind reigning world champions, the United States of America.

The Namibian Precision Rifle Association (NAPRA) team, comprised of Dirk Sauber, Michael Barlow, Janus van der Merwe, Keiran Mans, Liebies Liebenberg and Francois Marais, showcased exceptional skill and determination under extreme windy conditions and challenging stage setups.

Winds of between 10 and 15 metres per second were blowing during stages,

Namibia (636 points) finished only behind the formidable USA team (680), but beat bronze medallists Australia (624), Norway (614), Great Britain (602), New Zealand (600), Sweden (591), South Africa (583), Ireland (575) and Canada (555) as the rest of the top-ten.

Dirk Sauber reflected on the team's remarkable achievement and the improvement on their seventh-place finish at the first-ever world championship in 2022, where he was also the only Namibian to reach an individual top-ten finish (seventh).

Sauber said: "When we competed in France two years ago, I set a goal for us to reach the Team Podium at the next Worlds. Today, that dream became a reality. I am so proud of Keiran, Janus, Liebies, Francois and Michael.”

Individually, the Namibian shooters also excelled, with three members ensuring finishes in the top ten. Dirk Sauber was due to compete for fifth place late yesterday (Namibian time), while Francois Marais (7th/8th) and Keiran Mans (9th/10th place) were also confirmed among the elite finishers.

The competition stages were highly demanding in variation, with Stage 2 featuring distances from 408 to 772 metres, while Stage 5 challenged the shooters with distances up to 832 metres.

Time limits of, for instance, 90 seconds to complete ten shots from three different starting positions and at targets set at three different distances within 900 seconds put significant additional pressure to execute their skills.

Despite the tough conditions, the team demonstrated outstanding precision and teamwork.

NAPRA’s Karola Marais says her husband Francois (aka Wors) recovered well from some tough results on the opening day, to also finish just outside the individual medal positions.

“We were pleasantly surprised at how many Namibians followed the competition live online, with keen interest despite the late-night time difference.

“One must also keep in mind that none of the Namibian team members are professional sportsmen; they all have day jobs and mainly shoot during competitions. They also buy their own equipment with their own hard-earned money.

“NAPRA is extremely proud of our team and we extend heartfelt thanks to our sponsors Agra Safari Den, Paratus, Direct Import Agencies, WCE, GES, Summit Sales, Outjo Bakkery, Outjo Apteek, Norman Campbell, AGA Pipes and Retirement Fund Solutions. Your support was invaluable in our journey to success.

“We look forward to the next World Championships, with details to follow. Team Namibia continues to set its sights high, building on this year's achievements.”

The Namibian team is expected back in Windhoek from Cape Town on Friday evening.

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