Braden Peiser, of San Angelo, Texas, earned the title of 2024 Junior World Champion in Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Oct. 1 in Lima, Peru.
“It is a bit surreal,” said Peiser about his big win. “I have been in a lot of finals and quite a few international finals. I was enjoying this final and the chase. It was fun sitting in second or third and knowing I had some work to do.”
Peiser, the 2024 Junior Olympic Champion, shot an exciting final at the 2024 Junior World Championships where he bested Victor Lindgren, of Sweden, who finished second. Peiser’s final consisted of 15 shots in the kneeling position, 15 in the prone position, and then 10 shots in the standing. After the first 10 standing shots, single shot eliminations began. With just Peiser and Lindgren left, Peiser needed to make up .2 points to move up from second place to first. For the last shot of the final, Lindgren shot a 10.4 and Peiser shot a 10.7, securing his gold medal.
“Victor took his shot, and I could hear the crowd cheering. I could not see his score because I was already looking down my sights,” said Peiser about his final shot. “I knew I needed a good shot. I took it and felt confident in it. It felt like an hour until it popped up on the screen. When I saw it, I was ecstatic and happy that it was where I thought it was.”
The 2024 competition marks the fifth Junior World Championships Peiser has competed in and his first individual gold medal. Peiser’s gold medal was his third medal of the 2024 competition. Peiser earned bronze in Men’s 10m Air Rifle and silver in Men’s 10m Air Rifle Team. This year’s three medals brough his total World Championship medal count to seven.
“This is the one that I felt the most prepared for going in and I felt like I was the most comfortable in the match and in the finals,” said Peiser, who shoots for the University of Kentucky.
Griffin Lake, of Emmaus, Pennsylvania, shot in the final as well and finished in sixth place and Tyler Wee of Wake Forest, North Carolina, shot in the final and took eight place. See official results here.
The U.S. is still competing in rifle, pistol, and shotgun events at the 2024 Junior World Championships. As of Oct 3, the U.S. has a medal count of 10. See all the medals below:
- Braden Peiser: Bronze, Men’s 10m Air Rifle
- Braden Peiser, Tyler Wee, and Jacob Wisman: Silver, Men’s 10m Air Rifle Team
- Katie Zaun, Emme Walrath, and Kenzie Kring: Silver, Women’s 10m Air Rifle Team
- Gracie Hensley: Silver, Women’s Skeet
- Benjamin Keller: Silver, Men’s Skeet
- Katie Zaun: Bronze, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions
- Jordan Sapp, Benjamin Keller, and Joshua Corbin: Gold, Men’s Skeet Team
- Gracie Hensley, Fayth Layne, and Madeline Corbin: Bronze, Women’s Skeet Team
- Madeline Corbin and Jordan Sapp: Bronze, Mixed Team Skeet
- Braden Peiser: Gold, Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions
The competition continues in Lima through Oct. 7. Follow @USAShooting on Instagram, Facebook, and X for updates and results. View photos from the competition here.