RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
A Randolph Airman earned a slot to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games after placing second at a four-day U.S. Olympic Team Trial international trap shooting competition March 14 in Kerrville, Texas.
It came down to two shooters vying for a second place victory - Lt. Col. Dominic Grazioli, an Air Force Reserve program manager for Air Education Training Command Planning and Requirements Division, and John Mullins, from Bremerton, Wash.
Although high winds, cold temperatures and rain formed the setting for the days events, Colonel Grazioli endured and fought his way into a third place slot. Only two targets behind second place and a trip to the Olympics in Beijing, China, Colonel Grazioli entered the finals hopeful.
"Given the conditions," Colonel Grazioli said, "I knew if I could make the final, I had a chance."
As the final round progressed, it was apparent it would be a two-person contest for second place. The colonel and his competition continued neck and neck down the stretch.
"I was already planning for the tie-breaker," Colonel Grazioli said about finishing the single-shot final with a world-class 23 of 25. "I had already hung my gun on my shoulder and was getting ready for the next phase when I looked up to see John shoot his last target."
The shock was immediate when the colonel heard the shot and saw the target continue flying.
"My mind was screaming 'You just made the Olympic Team! You just made the Olympic Team!,'" he said.
But where did the Olympic competitor begin?
Early on, Colonel Grazioli enjoyed shooting. When he was a child, his father, a retired senior master sergeant aircraft mechanic, worked with and spent time at gun clubs.
"I always felt comfortable around guns," the colonel said. "We were taught early to respect firearms. We knew the importance of safety.
"I really started shooting when I was 14. I began shooting at ranges and leagues while at Zaragoza Air Base in Spain. I shot in some amateur competitions and began working on my skills."
But it wasn't until in 1983, his sophomore year at the Air Force Academy, that his passion would ignite. While in his biology professor's office he noticed several awards for shooting. When he asked about them, his teacher returned the query. After the cadet told of his skills, the teacher put him to the test. His skills would prove worthy. The professor, as luck would have it, was also the Air Force Academy Trap and Skeet Team coach.
"He recruited me to the team, and I began working to improve my shooting," he said.
His senior year, he was approached with an opportunity to be on the Air Force Shooting Team. He graciously accepted. After graduating the AF Academy, the lieutenant found himself stationed at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C.
"I was still learning the game of international trap (shooting)," he said. "It takes years to learn how to do well."
In 1994, he earned a position on the U.S. Shooting Team, opening the door to international level competitions. Two years later he would earn an alternate slot for the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team. But his dream wouldn't come to fruition yet.
"Competing and winning at the Olympics is the ultimate goal for any international shooter," Colonel Grazioli said.
But his path along the way to that goal is nothing to sneeze at.
He's the reigning international trap National Champion and won his latest international medal in 2006 at World Cup USA.
"It's not the same thing you see on TV," he chuckled. "It's one person, one target. We have varying angles, heights, speeds and the targets go much farther than American trap."
But now he's facing the best-of-the-best.
"We all know each other at the international level and wish the best for each other," he said. "But we're also there to win."
As he and his wife, Tina, and children, Dominic, 10, and Lauren, 6, prepare to head to Beijing for his August 10 competition, he looks forward to the excitement of fulfilling one of his life's dreams.
"This could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me," he said. "With all the outstanding support I've received from my family and all my bosses, coworkers and friends over the years, I'm going try my hardest to bring home that Olympic medal."
(Some information in this article was provided by Master Sgt. Jeffrey Julig, Air Force International Trap Team)