Famed Rifle Shooter Lones Wigger Dies At 80 ~ VIDEO
By Ammoland
From greatfallstribune.com
USA – -(Ammoland.com)- Ret. Army Lt. Col. Lones W. Wigger, Jr., who grew up in Carter and became a four-time Olympian and the most decorated rifle shooter in the world, died last week at his home in Colorado Springs, Colo., of complications from pancreatic cancer.
He was 80 years old.
During his induction to the Olympic Hall of Fame in 2008, Wigger’s daughter and 1983 Pan American Games teammate, Deena, said her father “has paid more back to the sport of shooting than he ever got out of it.”
Wigger’s illustrious international shooting career spanned 25 years and saw him winning 111 medals and setting 29 world records, along with winning two Olympic gold medals and one silver.
In 1999 Sports Illustrated ranked the top 50 athletes of the 20th Century in each of the 50 states. Wigger ranked No. 3, behind baseball star Dave McNally and rodeo champion Dan Mortensen.
As a 12-year-old in 1949, Wigger took up shooting in the basement of the Carter Community Center. Carter is the small community located just northeast of Great Falls.
Fifteen years later, he was well on his way to becoming one of the finest and best known position rifle …Read the Rest
Source:: AmmoLand
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