Lones Wigger
Biographical information
| Roles | Competed in Olympic Games |
|---|---|
| Sex | Male |
| Full name | Lones Wesley•Wigger, Jr. |
| Used name | Lones•Wigger |
| Nick/petnames | Wiggles |
| Born | 25 August 1937 in Great Falls, Montana (USA) |
| Died | 14 December 2017 in Colorado Springs, Colorado (USA) |
| Measurements | 170 cm / 82 kg |
| Affiliations | US Army, (USA) |
| NOC |  United States |
| Medals | OG |
| Gold | 2 |
| Silver | 1 |
| Bronze | 0 |
| Total | 3 |
Biography
Little argument can be given to the statement that Lones Wigger is the greatest competitive rifle shooter yet produced in the United States. Leaving aside his Olympic record, which includes making four Olympic teams, including 1980, he held or co-held 27 world records – 14 team and 13 individual. He won 58 National Championships of almost every variety since 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); 13 Pan-American Games gold medals and 18 medals; 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 all his international meets, he won 111 medals.
Wigger attended Montana State University where he earned a degree in agronomy and All-American honors in rifle shooting three times. He had a 26-year career in the US Army, retiring in 1987. He then went to work for the National Rifle Association (NRA) as director of training for the USA Shooting team until 1994. Wigger continued to work as a volunteer with the US Junior Olympic Shooting Program, and served on the board of USA Shooting for various terms through 2016. On his 80th birthday, USA Shooting renamed the interior of its headquarters and upper range the Lones Wigger Legacy Hall and Range.
Results
| Games | Discipline (Sport) / Event | NOC / Team | Pos | Medal | As | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 Summer Olympics | Shooting | USA |
Lones Wigger | |||
| Small-Bore Rifle, Three Positions, 50 metres, Men (Olympic) | 1 | Gold | ||||
| Small-Bore Rifle, Prone, 50 metres, Men (Olympic) | 2 | Silver | ||||
| 1968 Summer Olympics | Shooting | USA |
Lones Wigger | |||
| Small-Bore Rifle, Prone, 50 metres, Open (Olympic) | 25 | |||||
| 1972 Summer Olympics | Shooting | USA |
Lones Wigger | |||
| Free Rifle, Three Positions, 300 metres, Open (Olympic) | 1 | Gold | ||||
| Small-Bore Rifle, Prone, 50 metres, Open (Olympic) | 7 |
Olympic family relations
- Father of Deena Wigger
Special Notes
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the Summer Pan American Games (13–5–0 1963 São Paulo SHO gold: small-bore rifle prone team, silver: small-bore rifle prone; 1971 Cali SHO gold: small-bore rifle 3 positions team, silver: small-bore rifle 3 positions; 1975 Ciudad de México SHO gold: small-bore rifle 3 positions team, silver: small-bore rifle 3 positions; 1979 San Juan SHO gold: small-bore rifle 3 positions, small-bore rifle prone, small-bore rifle 3 positions team, and small-bore rifle prone team; 1983 Caracas SHO gold: small-bore rifle 3 positions, free rifle 3 positions, small-bore rifle 3 positions team, small-bore rifle prone team, free rifle 3 postions team, and free rifle prone team, silver: small-bore rifle prone and free rifle prone)
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the World Shooting Championships (22–22–7 1966 Wiesbaden gold: 300 m free rifle 3 positions team, 50 m small-bore rifle 3 positions team, 50 m small-bore rifle kneeling team, and 50 m small-bore rifle prone team, bronze: 50 m small-bore rifle standing team; 1970 Phoenix gold: 300 m free rifle 3 positions team, 300 m free rifle standing team, and 50 m small-bore rifle standing team, silver: 300 m free rifle prone, 300 m free rifle kneeling team, 300 m standard rifle 3 positions team, 10 m air rifle team, 50 m small-bore rifle 3 positions team, 50 m small-bore rifle kneeling team, and 50 m standard rifle 3 positions team, bronze: 50 m small-bore rifle 3 positions; 1974 Bern/Thun gold: 50 m small-bore rifle standing, 300 m free rifle 3 positions team, 300 m free rifle standing team, 300 m free rifle prone team, 300 m standard rifle 3 positions team, 50 m small-bore rifle 3 positions team, and 50 m small-bore rifle standing team, silver: 300 m standard rifle 3 positions, 300 m free rifle kneeling team, 50 m small-bore rifle 3 positions, 50 m small-bore rifle kneeling team, and 50 m small-bore rifle prone team, bronze: 300 m free rifle prone; 1978 Seoul gold: 300 m free rifle 3 positions, 300 m free rifle 3 positions team, 300 m free rifle prone team, 300 m free rifle standing team, 300 m standard rifle 3 positions team, 50 m small-bore rifle 3 positions team, 50 m small-bore rifle standing team, and 50 m small-bore prone team, silver: 300 m free rifle prone, 50 m small-bore prone, and 300 m free rifle kneeling team, bronze: 300 m free rifle standing; 1982 Caracas silver: 300 m standard rifle 3 positions, 300 m free rifle 3 positions team and 300 m free rifle standing team, bronze: 300 m free rifle standing, 300 m free rifle kneeling team, and 50 m small-bore rifle keeling team; 1986 Skövde silver: 300 m free rifle 3 positions team, 300 m free rifle kneeling team, 300 m free rifle standing team, and 300 m standard rifle 3 positions team)