Gary Lee Anderson (born October 8, 1939) is a former Nebraska state legislator and an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
sport shooter. He was the only shooter to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals in the
300 m rifle event before it was discontinued. He also set six individual world records, and won seven
world
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
and 11 national titles, as well as 11 gold medals at the
Pan-American Games
The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...
.
Early life and education
Born in
Holdrege, Nebraska
Holdrege is a city in Phelps County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 5,495 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Phelps County. The Nebraska Prairie Museum is located in Holdrege.
History
Holdrege was established in 1883 whe ...
, Anderson grew up on a farm near
Axtell, Nebraska
Axtell is a village in western Kearney County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Kearney, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 732 at the 2020 census.
History
The first settlement at Axtell was made in the 1870s ...
, and graduated from
Axtell High School in 1957. He attended the
University of Nebraska
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
for one year and then enlisted in the army. He served in the army until 1962, attaining the rank of Lieutenant. After resigning from the army, Anderson served with the
Nebraska Army National Guard
The Nebraska Army National Guard is a group of Army National Guard units in the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Adjutant General for these units is Major General Daryl L. Bohac, who was announced as the new Deputy Director of the Army National Guard ...
from 1963 to 1965 and the
California National Guard
The California National Guard is part of the National Guard of the United States, a dual federal-state military reserve force. The CA National Guard has three components: the CA Army National Guard, CA Air National Guard, and CA State Guard. ...
from 1965 to 1968. During this time he received degrees from
Hastings College
Hastings College is a private Presbyterian college in Hastings, Nebraska.
History
The college was founded in 1882 by a group of men and women seeking to establish a Presbyterian college dedicated to high academic and cultural standards. ...
in
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
and the
San Francisco Theological Seminary
The San Francisco Theological Seminary (SFTS) is a seminary in San Anselmo, California with historic ties to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). SFTS became embedded in a new Graduate School of Theology of the University of Redlands in 2019. It was ...
in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
Political career
Anderson was elected as a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
to a four-year term in the
Nebraska Legislature
The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators", the Nebraska Legislature is the sm ...
in 1972. During his term, Anderson felt that the Republican Party was too engaged in partisan politics, so he changed affiliation from the Republican to the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
. At the end of his term, Anderson did not seek re-election.
Sport shooting career
From a very young age, hunting and shooting fascinated Anderson. Without benefit of a coach or proper equipment (including ammunition), he taught himself how to shoot by
dry-firing his rifle for hours at a time. Dreams of becoming an Olympic gold medalist in shooting led Anderson to the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
. In 1959, after convincing skeptical army coaches that his implausibly high shooting scores were accurate, he was assigned to the elite
United States Army Marksmanship Unit
The United States Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU or AMU) is a part of U.S. Army providing small arms marksmanship training for soldiers and enhancing Army recruiting. The unit was originally established in 1956 at the direction of president Dwight ...
at
Fort Benning,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. His first international competition was the
Pan American Games in 1959—only two years later, in 1961, he would win his first national championship.
At the
1962 World Shooting Championships in
Cairo, Egypt, he stunned the shooting world, then completely dominated by Russian shooters, by winning four individual titles and setting three new world records.
At the 1964 Olympics in
Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, Anderson confirmed his performance in Cairo was not a fluke, setting a new world record and winning the
300 meter free-rifle gold medal. At the
1966 World Shooting Championships in
Wiesbaden, Germany
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
, he won three additional titles. Anderson continued to demonstrate his dedication to shooting by besting his own world record and winning a second gold medal in the 300 meter free-rifle event at the 1968 Olympics in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
.
In ten years, his two Olympic gold medals, seven World Championship gold medals, six world records, and 12 national titles were and continue to be the most major international shooting titles ever won by an American. Following retirement from active competition, he continued to devote his time and energy to shooting sports by coaching young shooters, teaching shooting clinics, speaking at numerous shooting sports functions, and authoring hundreds of magazine articles and three books about shooting. Even during his "retirement" from shooting competition, Anderson competed in the
National Highpower Championships at
Camp Perry
Camp Perry is a National Guard training facility located on the shore of Lake Erie in northern Ohio near Port Clinton. In addition to its regular mission as a military training base, Camp Perry also boasts the second largest outdoor rifle range ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, winning the
President's National Trophy in 1973, 1975 and 1976.
Anderson worked at the
National Rifle Association of America
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 cont ...
(NRA) where he served as Executive Director of General Operations. He was responsible for the development of safety, training and competition programs. Among hundreds of other honors, Anderson was awarded the
National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice (NBPRP)
Distinguished International Shooting Badge (Serial number one) in April 1963 by President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
. While at the NRA, he served on the NBPRP board, and was one of the first people to advocate and pioneer a shift in priorities to youth and junior shooting. As a result of this shift, Anderson became the founding and administrative director of the
USA Shooting Team Foundation and, in 1993, he moved to
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
to become the Shooting Competitions Manager for the 1996
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
. In 1996, Anderson accepted a position with
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is located in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,066,710, making it the state's most-populous county and its only one with over o ...
, to manage the
Wolf Creek Shooting Venue, a facility destined to become a premier national and international center for the shooting sports.
Anderson's influence on shooting sports extends well beyond the United States. He traveled extensively throughout his career in shooting, serving as a genuine ambassador for shooting sports, attending eleven Summer Olympic Games, three as a competitor and eight as technical delegate or a jury member. He is the first American ever elected to the position of Vice President of the
International Shooting Union, and still serves in that capacity today. Anderson is also the recipient of one of only five prestigious honorary memberships to the historic and renowned shooting club,
Hauptschutzengesellschaft, in
Munich, Germany
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
.
After his active career, Anderson has continued to work with shooting. He was Shooting Competition Manager at the
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, and served as Director of Civilian Marksmanship in the U.S.
Civilian Marksmanship Program
The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) is a U.S. government-chartered program intended to promote firearm safety training and rifle practice for all qualified U.S. citizens with a specific emphasis on youth. Any U.S. citizen not otherwise legall ...
from 1999 to 2009 (now Director Emeritus). He is also one of the vice presidents of the
International Shooting Sport Federation
The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) is the governing body of the Olympic shooting events in rifle, pistol and shotgun ( clay target) disciplines, and of several non-Olympic shooting sport events. ISSF's activities include regulati ...
.
[
In June 2012, the ]International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
awarded Anderson the IOC's highest honor, the Olympic Order for outstanding services to the Olympic Movement.
References
External Links
* at the Nebraska State Historical Society
History Nebraska, formerly the Nebraska State Historical Society is a Nebraska state agency, founded in 1878 to "encourage historical research and inquiry, spread historical information ... and to embrace alike aboriginal and modern history." I ...
*
*
Profile at USA Shooting
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Gary
1939 births
Living people
People from Holdrege, Nebraska
Sportspeople from Nebraska
American male sport shooters
United States Army officers
United States Distinguished Marksman
ISSF rifle shooters
Shooters at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Shooters at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in shooting
Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Hastings College alumni
University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni
San Francisco Theological Seminary alumni
Nebraska state senators
Nebraska Republicans
Olympic medalists in shooting
Nebraska Democrats
Pan American Games medalists in shooting
Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States
Shooters at the 1959 Pan American Games
Shooters at the 1963 Pan American Games
Shooters at the 1967 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games
Recipients of the Olympic Order