Braden Peiser wins the 2024 Junior World Championship title

Braden Peiser of San Angelo, Texas, captured the 2024 Men’s 50m Rifle 3-position World Junior title on October 1 in Lima, Peru.

“It’s a little surreal,” Peiser said of his big win. “I have participated in many finals and some international finals. I enjoyed this finale and the chase. It was fun to sit in second or third place and know I still had something to do.”

Peiser, the 2024 Junior Olympic champion, scored a thrilling final at the 2024 Junior World Championships, defeating Victor Lindgren of Sweden, who finished second. Peiser’s final consisted of 15 shots kneeling, 15 prone and then 10 standing. After the first 10 standing shots, the single shot elimination began. With only Peiser and Lindgren remaining, Peiser had to gain 0.2 points to move from second to first place. On the last shot of the final, Lindgren shot a 10.4 and Peiser a 10.7, securing his gold medal.

“Victor took his shot and I could hear the crowd cheering. I couldn’t see his score because I was already looking down,” Peiser said of his final shot. “I knew I needed a good shot. I took it and felt safe in it. It felt like an hour before it appeared on the screen. When I saw it, I was thrilled and happy that it was where I thought it would be.”

The 2024 competition marks the fifth World Junior Championships Peiser has competed in and his first individual gold medal. Peiser’s gold medal was his third medal in the 2024 competition. Peiser won bronze in the men’s 10m air rifle and silver in the men’s 10m air rifle team. This year’s three medals bring his total number of World Championship medals to seven.

“I was the most prepared for this competition and felt the most comfortable in the game and the final,” said Peiser, who shoots for the University of Kentucky.

Griffin Lake of Emmaus, Pennsylvania, also shot in the finals and placed sixth, and Tyler Wee of Wake Forest, North Carolina, shot in the finals and placed eighth. Official results can be found here.

The U.S. is still participating in rifle, pistol and shotgun competition at the 2024 World Junior Championships. As of October 3rd, the USA has a medal count of 10. All medals can be found below:

1. Braden Peiser: Bronze, Men’s 10m Air Rifle
2. Braden Peiser, Tyler Wee and Jacob Wisman: Silver, Men’s 10m Air Rifle Team
3. Katie Zaun, Emme Walrath and Kenzie Kring: Silver, Women’s 10m Air Rifle Team
4. Gracie Hensley: Silver, Women’s Skeet
5. Benjamin Keller: Silver, Skeet Men
6. Katie Zaun: Bronze, women’s 50m rifle, 3 positions
7. Jordan Sapp, Benjamin Keller and Joshua Corbin: Gold, men’s skeet team
8. Gracie Hensley, Fayth Layne and Madeline Corbin: Bronze, women’s skeet team
9. Madeline Corbin and Jordan Sapp: Bronze, Mixed Team Skeet
10. Braden Peiser: Gold, men, 50 m rifle, 3 positions

The competition runs in Lima until October 7th. Follow @USAShooting on Instagram, Facebook and X for updates and results. View photos from the competition here.