Margaret Murdock
Shooting | ||||||||||||
| Event | Small-bore rifle | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University team | Kansas State University | |||||||||||
| Club | U.S. Army Reserve | |||||||||||
| Retired | At age 35[2] | |||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||
| Olympic finals | 1976 Montreal | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||
Margaret Thompson Murdock (born August 25, 1942) is a nurse and former United States Army officer most widely known for her success in international shooting competitions, including a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Murdock is the first woman to win a medal in
Early years
My first year at K-State, I couldn't shoot on the team because I was a female. I could practice with the K-State team but I couldn't be on the team. They got a new coach and he thought it would be a good idea for me to be on the team since I was shooting better than everyone else.
— Murdock, reminiscing in 2011[2]
Margaret L. Thompson was born August 25, 1942, in Topeka, Kansas.[3] While growing up during the 1950s, she learned how to shoot by following her father to the rifle range.[2]
She graduated from
Competitions
Murdock was the 1966 World Champion in Women's Standard Rifle.[5] In 1967 she won two gold medals in small-bore rifle at the Pan American Games and set a world record, for men or women, in the kneeling rifle shooting.[1]
Murdock narrowly missed qualifying for the 1968 games in Mexico City.[2] She became the first woman ever on the U.S. Olympic shooting team (in 1976) and the first woman to win a medal in shooting at the Olympic Games.[4] She won a silver medal that year, after tying with Lanny Bassham, the U.S. team captain.[4] Olympic rules forbade a shoot-off, which Bassham had requested.[4] During the national anthem, Bassham pulled Murdock up to stand with him on the gold medal spot at the podium.[4] In 1992 she was named to the U.S. International Shooting Hall of Fame.[4]
Post-competition career
Murdock retired from competitive shooting at age 35,[2] becoming a registered nurse, specializing in anesthesia.[3]
References
- ^ a b Margaret Murdock. sports-reference.com
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "No. 5: Murdock didn't miss upon getting her shot". The Topeka Capital-Journal. August 26, 2011. Retrieved 2012-08-11.
- ^ a b "Murdock, Margaret L. (Thompson)". Sports Biographies. HickokSports.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-25. Retrieved 2012-08-11.
- ^ a b c d e f Thomas, Nolan (June 18, 2010). "20 Inspirational Female Athletes Who Won In a "Man's Sport"". SportsManagementDegree.org. Retrieved 2012-08-11.
- ^ "U.S. Markswoman Wins Silver, Nearly the Gold". Los Angeles Times. July 22, 1976. p. D8. Retrieved 2009-11-29.