On the evening of July 15, the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) hosted the annual First Shot Ceremony – the traditional start to the century-old National Matches.
The sweltering sun blazed down at the Camp Perry National Guard Training Facility, where the Matches have been held since 1907, but a cooling breeze welcomed the crowd of competitors and guests from surrounding areas and around the country. As visitors arrived, sounds of the 122nd Army Band resonated throughout the assembled stands and vintage vehicles from Timeless Ts Model T Club lined the entry to the plaza. Guests were able to walk up to each vehicle for a closer look and were even provided personal rides around Camp Perry’s base.
When the festivities began, a TBM Avenger from Port Clinton’s Liberty Aviation Museum made five passes over the crowd – with a resounding explosion from a controlled pyrotechnic on the range simulating a dropped bomb and marking the final pass.
Christie Sewell, CMP’s Chief Programs Officer, served as emcee of the event, introducing such distinguished guests as Maj. Gen. John C. Harris (Adjutant General of the Ohio National Guard), Susan Green (Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army), Ohio Congressmen Bob Latta and D.J. Swearingen and several senior leaders from the Ohio National Guard. CMP Board members were also in attendance as well as Director of Civilian Marksmanship Emeritus and Olympic gold-medalist Gary Anderson, and Port Clinton Mayor Mike Snider.
This year’s esteemed First Shot speaker was current U.S. Air Force Academy Rifle Coach, CMP Board member and gold-medalist Launi Meili, who has amassed a career of over 50 years with numerous marksmanship entities, including the last eight with the CMP. Among several accolades, records and hall of fame inductions, she was the first American woman to ever win Olympic gold in smallbore rifle (Barcelona 1992) and remains the only woman to compete in both air rifle and smallbore at two separate Games.
During the First Shot, she addressed the crowd by recounting her illustrious career – the good and the bad.
“You may see my picture with a gold medal and think, ‘Wow, she probably has natural talent.’ I have to say, my very first match, I came in last place,” she admitted. “I also have to say, when I shot at the collegiate level, the highest I ever placed was sixth. So, not a lot of natural talent – what it was, was a lot of hard work.”
She explained how she traveled the world early in her career, ultimately locking her into the sport. The passion for it took her to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs where she worked full-time to achieve her goal – an Olympic medal. In 1988, she performed well at World Cup events and was predicted to win a medal at the Olympic Games in Seoul – even setting an Olympic record in the preliminaries.
With confidence, she entered the final in Seoul in first place. Unfortunately, her nerves got the best of her as her legs began to shake, and she fell from first to sixth place and missed out on her dream.
“Again, not a lot of natural talent,” she joked. “I had to work another four years.”
Many around her, at the time, asked if it was worth the sacrifice of another four years of her life to return to the Olympic stage, to which she replied, “Is the bigger sacrifice to quit? Or is the bigger sacrifice to keep going?”
“I learned from that final, and I worked on it every single day for four years,” she went on.
Her hard work paid off as she made the 1992 team and set yet another Olympic record in smallbore before again heading into the final in first place.
“This time, I had a better plan,” she said. “It carried me through, and I ended up with a gold medal.”
As she concluded her story to the ceremony crowd, by surprise, Meili lifted an object from the podium – the actual gold medal she had won in Barcelona.
“I encourage people to touch this,” she said. “Over 10,000 kids have touched this, and that’s very important to me.”
“Shooting’s been good for me. It’s been a great journey, and it’s important to share. It’s important to see that starting out with very little talent can get you to where you want to be, with a lot of hard work,” she added.
As an aside, she noted she was proud to have the same medal as Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and others from the “Dream Team” – the famous gold-medal-winning basketball team also from the Barcelona Olympic Games.
“And they needed a whole team to win!” she teased.
“In our sport, it doesn’t matter how tall you are, how fast you are, how strong you are – it just depends on how hard you want to work. Anybody can become a good shooter.”
“Set your goals, keep working on them, and you’re going to get there,” she concluded.
Met with applause, Meili then made the walk from the podium to the 600-yard line of Rodriguez Range, located behind her. Prepared there was the gold-plated 1907 Standard .22 caliber rifle that was presented to her at the 1993 SHOT Show by Dieter Anschütz, owner/president of Anschütz Rifles. It was personally made for Meili after winning the gold medal in Barcelona and had been on display at the USA Shooting Hall of Fame.
The 2024 First Shot Ceremony marked the rifle’s first-ever firing on an outdoor range.
As any good markswoman would do, Meili carefully placed her shooting glasses on her face and hearing protection over her ears. She lifted the rifle to her eyeline to prepare her sights, then, when ready, she pulled the trigger.
A tiny click was heard from the quiet rifle, followed by, comically, an enormous blast from a pyrotechnic target 600 yards downrange. The crowd laughed as Meili smiled.
After she posed for photos, Sewell again took to the podium to give her closing remarks. The 122nd Army Band played once more – each military branch’s anthem. Once the last note was played, a booming cannon fire shook the range to mark the end of the ceremony.
Afterwards, Meili graciously took photos with guests and allowed them to hold her gold medal. It was an inspirational day and the perfect opening to an event where challenges are often met and dreams are realized – the historic Camp Perry National Matches.
See Meili’s Rifle: The gold-plated 1907 Standard used during the First Shot Ceremony will be on display at the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center at Camp Perry for the next year, along with the authentic outfit Meili wore during the 1992 Olympic Games and several medals from around the world (Germany, Mexico, Norway and more).
Stop in any time during open hours to view it all, and while you’re there, take a few shots of your own within our air range – we have air guns available for rent! The Laser Shot simulators are also a lot of fun – be sure to try it out when you visit! Learn more at https://thecmp.org/ranges/cmp-competition-centers/.
The National Matches is on! The 117th National Matches will run now through Aug. 10, featuring smallbore rifle, air gun, pistol, highpower rifle, vintage rifle and long range rifle events for adults and juniors of all experience levels. The National Matches is also home to several purchasing options for your marksmanship needs through the CMP North Store (open year-round) and numerous vendors on Commercial Row. Learn more at https://thecmp.org/cmp-national-matches/. Come be part of the tradition!
The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. It is dedicated to firearm safety and marksmanship training and to the promotion of marksmanship competition for citizens of the United States. For more information about the CMP and its programs, log onto www.TheCMP.org.
The Women's Outdoor News, aka The WON, features news, reviews and stories about women who are shooting, hunting, fishing and actively engaging in outdoor adventure. This publication is for women, by women. View all posts by The WON
