Danielle Fong (born August 3, 1991) is an American rifle shooter who represented the United States at the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

. She is a holder of six national

shooting sport Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such ...

records: two USA Shooting national records and four

NRA The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while conti ...

national records.

Early life and education

Fong was born with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

in 1991 and grew up on the Upper East Side of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. She attended the

Hewitt School The Hewitt School is an all-girls independent K-12 school in New York City, New York. The school serves girls in three divisions: Lower School (K-4), Middle School (5-8), and Upper School (9-12). History Caroline D. Hewitt founded the Hewitt Sch ...

from Kindergarten to 12th grade. She was a four-year captain of the school's Future Problem Solvers' team that represented New York State in national competition for six consecutive years. She was also an avid sportswoman, and was a member of the school's

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

cross-country Cross country or cross-country may refer to: Places * Cross Country, Baltimore, a neighborhood in northwest Baltimore, Maryland * Cross County Parkway, an east–west parkway in Westchester County, NY * Cross County Shopping Center, a mall in Yo ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, and swimming teams. She was the Hewitt Middle School's Most Improved Athlete. Fong was a three-time captain and MVP of the high school swimming team, and in her senior year was named to the Athletic Association of Independent Schools (AAIS) coaches all star team. She attended

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York City, where she studied political science.

Shooting sport career

Since beginning the sport, Fong has employed many high-level coaches, including Michele Makucevich, Janet Raab, Marcus Raab, and Chuck Meyer. Her current coach is Olympic silver medalist Bob Foth. Fong was a member of the U.S. Paralympic Team (Beijing, 2008). She competed in the Women's R2-10 m air rifle standing SH1 and Women's R8-50 m sport rifle 3x20 SH1 events. Fong was a member of the United States Paralympic World Championships Team in 2006 and 2010. She has been a member of the

Paralympic World Cup The Paralympic World Cup is an annual international multi-sport event for elite athletes with a disability, that has been hosted in Manchester, England, since 2005. It is organized by the British Paralympic Association (BPA) in coordination with t ...

Team since 2006. She placed 5th in prone smallbore rifle at the 2010

IPC Shooting World Championships The World Shooting Para Sport Championships, originally known as the IPC Shooting World Championships, are the world championships for shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, ...

in Zagreb, Croatia. She also won two silver medals at the Alicante World Cup 2009, and 2 golds and a silver medal as a member of the junior team at the Championships of the Americas. She is a holder of six national records: two USA Shooting national records (three-person team record for junior and women for 50 ft prone), and four

national records (Four person team 120 shots three position conventional outdoors 50 yards open and civilian, and 120 shots three position 50 meters open and civilian).

Family

Fong began

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

shooting with her sisters and father as a family sport. Her older sister, Abigail Fong, is a past National Champion in rifle shooting and is currently a resident athlete at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Her sister

Sandra Fong Sandra Fong (born April 15, 1990, in New York, New York) is an American Olympic sport shooter. She is a multiple-time American junior record holder, and a three-time medalist (one gold and two silver) for the small-bore rifle prone and rifle th ...

represented the United States at the Beijing Olympics, and was a member of the US women's team that won the team world championship and broke the world record at the 2010 World Championships in Munich.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fong, Danielle 1991 births Paralympic shooters of the United States American female sport shooters Shooters at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Living people People from the Upper East Side Hewitt School alumni Barnard College alumni 21st-century American women