In memory of Olympic Shooting legend Lones Wigger, USA Shooting and the National Training Center Shooting Club officially dedicated Firing Point 28 on its lower 50-meter range inside USA Shooting headquarters on Dec. 14. Wigger passed away exactly one year ago to the day after a prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer.
“Though gone, his impact on the sport and those around him, will never fade,” USA Shooting said.
Since 1984 when the USA Shooting Center opened in Colorado Springs, Wigger was a regular fixture on that firing point. He shot almost daily up until his death. Members of the National Training Center Shooting Club and employees at USA Shooting wanted to create a lasting memory for the impact Wigger had on the shooting community. Extreme devotion to his craft was Wigger’s trademark, and now that firing point will forever represent that ideal and the man who helped put a stamp on USA Shooting’s tradition of excellence.
Little argument can be given to the statement that the four-time Olympian and two-time Olympic champion is the greatest competitive rifle shooter America has ever seen. An iconic figure in the shooting sports, Lt. Col. Wigger is the only USA Shooting Team member ever elected to the US Olympic Committee’s Hall of Fame and was also selected as one of the USOC’s 100 Golden Olympians in 1996. He won more medals in international shooting competition (111) than any other shooting athlete in the world.
During his illustrious career, he also held or co-held 27 world records – 14 team and 13 individual. He won 58 National Championships of almost every variety since 1963. He was a member of 16 major U.S. international teams, starting with the 1963 Pan-American Games and his record also includes: 22 World Championships (two individual & 20 team); seven Pan-American titles, 18 victories in the Championship of the Americas match; and 16 victories in the Council Internationale Sport du Militaire match. Upon his retirement from the sport, he was described as the “fiercest competitor of our lifetime.”
In honor of his achievements and in celebration of his 80th birthday on August 25, 2017, USA Shooting renamed the interior of its headquarters and upper range the Lones Wigger Legacy Hall and Range. A memorial service with family and friends was held in late February to celebrate Wigger’s legacy in the sport.
USA Shooting is also soliciting contributions from the public in support of his legacy through the Lones Wigger Legacy Endowment that supports youth shooting initiatives, including USA Shooting’s Junior Olympic program. More than $500,000 has been raised in support of the Endowment to date. For more information or if you have any questions/comments, please contact: donate@usashooting.org or call (719) 866-4883.
