Lanny Barnes added another impressive feat to her career by winning the gold medal in the Shotgun Open women’s division in Pattaya, Thailand on Dec. 8.
The Durango native and former Olympian finished first in the women’s division out of 19 competitors from around the world and 42nd out of 188 competitors in all categories.
“It was a really awesome experience, it was a lot warmer there than it is here,” Barnes said. “It’s supposed to be winter, but it was almost unbearable with the heat and humidity. It was challenging to try to (acclimate) to that heat this time of year.”
The competition features action-style shooting on the run, with both static and moving targets, according to Barnes. She said the sport has grown significantly more popular over the last 10-15 years.
Barnes is no stranger to the world stage, as she and her twin sister Tracy competed internationally in the biathlon for 13 years. Barnes competed in the 2006, 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics in the biathlon representing the United States.
“Biathlon was the perfect sport for my twin sister and I growing up in Durango,” Barnes said. “It combined two different completely different disciplines, the aerobic fitness of skiing and the fine-tuned discipline of shooting. There weren’t a lot of programs around here. They had a great Nordic team and that's where we learned how to ski. Then in high school, we jumped into and made the junior Olympic program and junior national team and started traveling around the country and around the world.”
At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Barnes competed in the 24-kilometer relay and the 15-kilometer biathlon. In 2010 up in Vancouver, Barnes competed in those two events, as well as the 7.5-kilometer sprint. In Barnes’ final Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia in 2014, Barnes competed in the 15-kilometer biathlon.
After retiring from international biathlon competition in 2014, Barnes and her sister jumped into shotgun shooting.
They both fell in love with it and began competing on the world stage once again.
“I qualified the last couple of years at the USPSA, or the United States Practical Shooting Association matches and they held what we call three gun matches, which is rifle, pistol and shotgun all combined,” Barnes said. “They picked the team based off the performances at the National Championships. I was a gold medalist at the national championships last two years in three gun for open. So they picked me for the team to represent the U.S. in this championship.”
Barnes previously competed in the Shotgun World Championships in 2018, placing fourth against some tough competition. She had some time to improve after the championships, held every three years, were canceled due to COVID until resuming this year.
The competition from other athletes the week leading up to the final propelled Barnes to her victory. It was a five-day competition, and she competed against the Russians who were competing under the Kazakhstan flag because they are banned from international competition, according to Barnes. She also competed against shooters from Thailand.
Barnes looks to compete in the world championships in Greece in three years. Before then, she’s planning to compete in the rifle world championships next summer in Finland after finishing third in the previous rifle world championships.
Barnes said she’s a better shooter in the rifle competition because that’s what was used in the Olympics, and she’s looking forward to bringing another gold medal back to Durango.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
