Lones Wigger

Lones Wesley Wigger Jr. (August 25, 1937, Great Falls, Montana – December 14, 2017, Colorado Springs, Colorado) was an American sports shooter. Wigger was a member of the United States Olympic team on three occasions, winning two Olympic Gold Medals. He also served in the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel.

Lones Wigger Jr.

Wigger in 1964
Personal information
Full name	Lones Wesley Wigger Jr.
Nationality	American
Born	(1937-08-25)August 25, 1937 Great Falls, Montana, U.S.
Died	December 14, 2017(2017-12-14) (aged 80) Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.
Height	170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	82 kg (181 lb)
Sport
Sport	Sports shooting
Event	Rifle
Club	US Army
Medal record Representing United States Olympic Games 1964 Tokyo 50 m 3 positions 1972 Munich 300 m free rifle 1964 Tokyo 50 m rifle prone Pan American Games 1963 São Paulo 50 m prone, team 1963 São Paulo 50 m prone, ind. 1971 Cali 50 m prone, 3 pos. 1975 Mexico City 50 m prone, 3 pos. 1979 San Juan 50 m prone, 3 pos 1979 San Juan 50 m prone, ind. 1979 San Juan 50 m prone, team 1983 Caracas 50 m prone, 3 pos. 1983 Caracas 50 m prone, team 1983 Caracas 50 m prone, HP 3 pos. 1983 Caracas 50 m prone, HP 3 pos. team 1983 Caracas 50 m prone, ind. 1983 Caracas 50 m prone, high-P

Wigger is often regarded as having been the greatest competitive rifle shooter ever to have taken aim for the United States. He made every Olympic Shooting Team between 1968 and 1980, he held or co-held 27 world records – 14 team and 13 individual. He won 58 National Championships of almost every variety beginning in 1963. He was a member of 16 major U.S. international teams, starting with the 1963 Pan-American Games and his record includes: 22 World Championships (two individual, 20 team); seven Pan-American titles; 18 victories in the Championship of the Americas meet; 16 victories in the Council Internationale Sport du Militaire meet; and in those four meets, plus the Olympics, he won 108 medals.

Wigger was a member of the Olympic shooting team in 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1980. The 1964 effort resulted in a gold medal. He won the gold for the three position small-bore rifle with a score of 1164, and also won a silver medal for small-bore rifle, prone position with a score of 597. He ran the 23rd Infantry Division Sniper School in Vietnam in 1971, and won the gold medal for free rifle, 3 position, with a score of 1155 in 1972.

Wigger was on the United States Army Marksmanship Unit, and competed in international matches representing the United States for 20 years. He was inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame in June 2008.

Family

Lones Wigger's daughter, Deena Wigger, was on the 1988 Olympic air rifle squad. His son, Ron, served as the head rifle coach of the West Point rifle team for fourteen seasons. Under him, the team qualified for the championships in nine seasons, capturing the title in 2005, bronze in 2006 and silver for two years after that. His other son, Danny, is an accomplished Smallbore Rifle Prone Shooter.

Death

Lones Wigger died in the evening of December 14, 2017 at his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado of complications from pancreatic cancer.

Deena and Lones Wigger

External links

• Photos of Lones Wigger
• Lones Wigger at ISSF
• Lones Wigger at Olympics.com
• Lones Wigger at Olympedia
• Lones Wigger at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Hall of Fame
• Lones Wigger at the Team USA Hall of Fame