Thomas Garrigus
Thomas Irvin Garrigus was an American Olympic athlete who competed in shooting sports. A native of Oregon, he competed at the 1968 Summer Games where he won a silver medal, and later served as a coach.
Early life
Garrigus was born in Hillsboro, Oregon, to Donald and Wanda Garrigus. He was raised in Hillsboro, a western suburb of Portland, and began skeet shooting at the age of three. There he graduated from Hillsboro [High School (Oregon)|Hillsboro High School] before joining the United States Air Force, serving from 1965 to 1969.Olympics
In 1968, Garrigus won a spot on the [United States at the Olympics|United States Olympic Team] to compete at the Summer Games held in Mexico City, and was still a member of the U.S. Air Force Shooting Team. He was the youngest member of the U.S. shooting team at the Games. Competing in shooting for Men's Trap, he won the silver medal for this shotgun event. Garrigus tied for second place in the event, with John Braithwaite of the United Kingdom winning the gold medal with a world record score of 198.Held on October 19, the event had a three-way tie for second place between Garrigus, Kurt Czekalla of East Germany, and Pavel Senichev of the Soviet Union all with a score of 196. In the first shoot-off between the three competitors, Czekalla and Garrigus had scores of 25 in this event where clay pigeons are shot, while Senichev was eliminated with a score of 22. Garrigus then defeated the East German in the second shoot-off with a score of 25 to 23. This was the highest finish for an American in the event since Mark Arie won the gold medal in 1920 Summer Olympics|1920].