Margaret Murdock

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 shooting at the Summer Olympics and the first to win an individual open World Shooting Championship.^[2] In international competition Murdock set four individual world records and nine team world records.^[2] She is a member of five halls of fame, including the USA Shooting Hall of Fame and the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.^[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 Hayden High School,^[2] then attended Kansas State University, where she competed on the men's rifle team^[4] winning two Big Eight Conference championships and became the university's first female student to earn a varsity letter.^[2] The team practiced with 5th Army Rifle Team at Fort Riley, which led to a four-year stint in the U.S. Army, where she was assigned as a shooting instructor at Fort Benning, eventually achieving the rank of major.^[2]

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 estuvo a punto de clasificarse para los Juegos Olímpicos de Ciudad de México de 1968. [ ^{2 ] Se} convirtió en la primera mujer en formar parte del equipo olímpico de tiro de Estados Unidos ( en 1976 ) y la primera mujer en ganar una medalla en tiro en los Juegos Olímpicos. ^{[ 4 ]} En la final, su puntuación estaba empatada con la de Lanny Bassham , el capitán del equipo estadounidense, ^{[ 4 ]} pero fue relegada a la plata debido a una regla de desempate que ponderaba los últimos 10 disparos. ^{[ 6 ]} Las reglas olímpicas prohibían un desempate, que Bassham había solicitado. ^{[ 4 ]} Durante el himno nacional, Bassham subió a Murdock para que se colocara con él en el lugar de la medalla de oro en el podio. ^{[ 4 ]} En 1992 fue incluida en el Salón de la Fama Internacional de Tiro de Estados Unidos . ^{[ 4 ]}

Murdock se retiró del tiro deportivo a los 35 años, ^{[ 2 ]} convirtiéndose en enfermera titulada , especializada en anestesia . ^{[ 3 ]}