Blind archer posts first world record of London Olympics
The first world records of the London 2012 Olympics have been set by a blind South Korean archer -
m Dong Hyun is legally classified as blind and cannot see out of his right eye, but it did not stop the two-time gold medalist bettering his own leading 72-arrow score in the qualification competition at Lord's cricket ground in the British capital.
The 26-year-old, who struggles to read a newspaper, scored 699, which put him top of the standings ahead of compatriots Kim Bubmin and Oh Jin Hyek.
The efforts of the trio also delivered a second world record, as South Korea registered a landmark combined total of 2,087 for the team event --
Blind man shoots in competition matches
SHERMAN, TX -- One Texoma man is proving it's possible to overcome any obstacle--If you just don't give up. He shows us how he's taken what some view as a handicap, and turned it into motivation to achieve his goals.
Competitive shooting. It's a sport that's popular across Texoma, with all sorts of people. John Flyum is one of them. But this durant resident's not your average shooter.
"I only see small portions of the target," Flyum said. "That's why it takes me longer to figure out what I need to shoot and what not to shoot."
Ten years ago, John was involved in a near-fatal motorcycle wreck, leaving him 95 percent blind.
While some people may see John's blindness as a handicap, through these doors he's just another one of the guys.
"After he showed safety and everything, and was safe on the range, he was good to go," said Jason Webb owner of Red River Firearms.
"There were some initial apprehensions, since he's blind.
John's pistol is equipped with special sights, and he memorizes the locations of the targets. He's shot in International Defensive Pistol Assocation, or IDPA matches, at ranges from Alaska to Ada, Paris, and Sherman, for more than a year.
Meet the Blind Man Nicknamed ‘Midnight Gunslinger’ Who Has 80% Shot Accuracy.
We’ve seen how a woman born without arms didn’t let her disability keep her from learning to shoot guns. Now, a Florida man nicknamed “Midnight Gunslinger” is showing that he too hasn’t let his disability stop him from being a fast, accurate shooter either.
Jim Miekka of Citrus County is completely blind.
Miekka has been practicing fast draw shooting for a year now at the Hernando Sportsman’s Club with other Classical Fast Draw Society members.
“When I first started I was hitting about 25 percent of the time. Now I think I’m hitting about 80 percent or something like that,” Miekka told Bay News 9.
Not only is he accurate, but he can draw and shoot in about a half a second. Miekka noted that sometimes someone will tap the target so he can use his hearing to home in on its exact location.
“Not being able to see the target, remember where it is and actually get right on it. He’s done awesome,” Randie “Mad Jack” Rickert said.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Miekaa had previously invented a rifle scope that allowed him to shoot targets 100 yards away through a system that used sound signals. He showed off his skills with this system on YouTube a few years ago.
“He has invented a light to sound conversion unit that allows him to shoot as accurately as a skilled sighted person,”
Miekka, 52, was not born blind but lost his eyesight in an explosion, which also took two of his fingers, at 26 years old.
Blind shooter gets his guns back
Is justice blind? Sometimes. And so is New Jersey resident Stephen Hopler, a gun collector and enthusiast from the Garden State.
A blind gun collector can keep his gun permit and will have the weapons previously seized from his house by police returned to him, following a judge’s order handed down Friday in Superior Court in Morristown.
Steven Hopler, 49, of Rockaway Township won the latest battle in an ongoing war over his Second Amendment rights. The Morris County Prosecutor’s office had asked Judge Thomas Manahan to revoke Hopler’s firearms ID card and seize all guns in his possession, arguing Hopler abused alcohol and posed a danger to others by being a gun owner.
Hopler’s attorney, Gregg Trautmann, said, “First it was, ‘He can’t own guns because he’s blind.’ Now they tried, ‘you’re a habitual drunkard and we think it’s improper because you’re a habitual drunkard.’” .
You’d think for the police and the courts to step and and stomp on Mr. Hopler’s second amendment rights that he’d have had to done something terrible, like… shoot somebody. Well, in a way you’d be right.
The most recent legal scuffle began in 2008 when Hopler shot himself in the shin while cleaning one of his guns.
This is a tawdry story all around. But it looks as if the judge has looked over the evidence and found that the man has never done anything to harm others or indicate that his second amendment rights should be abridged. His permit will be restored and he can go back to collecting as he chooses.