YORKTOWN, VA (WAVY) — When Poquoson Freshman, Alex Orr has her sights set on a goal, she doesn’t miss the target.
Alex got into shooting when over 2-years ago, before she was 12-years-old. Now, she’s transitioned into air-rifling. Air-rifle is an Olympic sports, where shooters stand 10 meters from a dime-sized bullseye and have to nail it with a 4.5 Millimeter pellet.
Alex can now say she’s the best at it. On July 20, 2024, Alex won the 33rd Annual American Legion National Championship in Sporter Air Rifle in Hillsdale Michigan. She took home two gold medals, and one silver medal.
“I got rewarded for shooting good and it felt really nice,” said Alex.
“Shooting as well as she is at this age, even the competitors out there on the mats were really surprised at how young she was,” said Legion team Liaison, Mark Teixeira.
But one of the more special moments of Alex’s big win, was that her dad, Charles, was her coach when she won the National Championship.
“It was a loss for words. The fact that I’m her coach but also her dad… I just gave her the thumbs up like ‘you did it,'” said Orr.
Alex practices her craft at the Lafayette Gun Club in Yorktown. For more information about her program or other opportunities within the club, click here.