Photo By Mary Elizabeth Bridges | Staff Sergeant Maddalena poses at the New York State Fair. Photo by Mary Elizabeth...... read more read more
This year at the Great New York State Fair, Syracuse Recruiting Battalion was ecstatic to host a 2024 Olympic Silver Medalist! Staff Sergeant Sagen Maddalena, a Soldier in the U.S. Army and member of the Army Marksmanship Unit, paid us a visit. For three days, fair-goers enjoyed the chance to meet and talk about marksmanship, competitive sports, and even her Army story. Before the crowds arrived, I had the opportunity to pull her aside and ask a few burning questions.
Jumping right into her Olympics experience, I asked, “How did it feel to represent the U.S. and the Army on the Olympic stage?” She didn’t hesitate. “It’s humbling, it really is. To be able to have the opportunity to represent my country – it’s really just a humbling experience.”
Next, I wanted to find out what separates a normally skilled marksman from an Olympic-level shooter. I asked, “How do you prepare mentally and physically for competing at such a high level?” She explains how it’s a long process. “Preparing for the Olympics – it takes years. It’s not just an overnight thing that happens – ” she snaps her finger, “ – just like that. Going from deliberate breathing to visualization and imagery, all the way to strength/cardio training. Then the mentality of it – getting the confidence up to say, ‘Yes, I can win.’ It’s a lot.”
When it comes to skills and techniques, she says the number one thing that separates an Olympic-level marksman is: “Discipline. It’s about having confidence and trust in your preparation. It’s not only attending the Olympics. It’s going there knowing, ‘Hey, I want to WIN the Olympics.’” I asked her if it was always her desire to participate in the Olympics, and to my surprise, it wasn’t until her college years that she felt the pull. Suddenly, I was interested in her roots.
“What was your path to get to where you are now?” She answered, “It’s a long one. To keep it short, my grandpa began teaching me about marksmanship and gun safety which piqued my interest. When I was a mid-teen, maybe 13-years-old, I got started in a 22 program and I fell in love with it.” She continues humbly, “I wasn’t good. I didn’t have any natural talent or abilities. I just loved to train and put in the hard work. In college, I was able to compete with the University of Alaska Nanook Rifle Team and from there, knew that I wanted to keep shooting. I reached out to the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, and they gave me a chance. When I joined, I joined with the Olympics in mind.” Who or what exactly is the Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU)?
“Can you introduce us to the AMU for those who don’t know who you are?” She smiled. “The Army Marksmanship Unit, or AMU for short, is an elite group of competitive shooters. From pistol, shotgun, rifle, service rifle, service pistol, action shooting, long-range,” she stopped to breathe for a second and then continued, “we have a custom firearm shop. We also have instructors who go out and teach all the way from Basic Rifle Marksmanship to extremely precise long-range or short-range shooting. We’re able to travel the world and represent the U.S. and the Army.”
Wondering how the unit works as a team in such an individualistic sport, I inquire about team dynamics. She said, “When you’re on the line, it’s all you. You’re the one pulling the trigger. You’re the one making decisions. But behind the scenes, it’s the community. It’s the comradery, the team, and the AMU leadership that gets you to that point. You can’t do it on your own – even if what people see is you up on the line on your own. I always look at it like a NASCAR pit crew.”
At this point I thought, ‘This unit sounds awesome! How can I join?’ I asked her, “So what’s the process for joining the AMU? Can I join the Army and jump right in?” She laughed. “It’s not that easy. It’s a difficult process – you need to be very proficient in the sport. Whether that’s pistol, rifle, shotgun or action shooting. Next, you must have a drive and a winning mentality. From there, it’s just about reaching out or getting noticed (for your abilities).” She went on, “We’re a small team, so you have to be really good to get here. I’m not going to lie to you. But once you’re on the team? Man, we’re a family.”
I was curious about Staff Sergeant Maddalena’s personal growth while on her path. “Biggest mentor? Gotta say my dad. He’s aways been my inspiration; someone I look up to. Just a humble man, good at what he does, and always puts in the hard work and discipline.”
Next, she said, “My motivation really comes from, ‘How good can I get?’. It’s the progress and the journey, not the end result for me. Being older now in this sport, I’m always wanting to push that limit and see how far I can go. That’s my motivation.”
My following question involved how to handle losses. Her response? “It’s a teaching moment. That’s what I’ve found with setbacks or when things don’t seem to go (my) way. It’s learning how to handle those moments and then growing from it. I find the biggest teaching in life is my failures. I say failures not in a bad way, but in a way that’s made me stronger. I went from fifth in Tokyo to silver in Paris, and it really pushes me to strive for gold the next games.”
Lastly, Staff Sergeant Maddalena is a U.S. Army Soldier. What does that mean to her? “Every time I lay my head down at night and wake up in the morning, that’s my job – to serve my country. It’s my life, and it’s something I enjoy because I can put myself second and put others first. That’s what it means to me to join the Army and serve my country. You’re a part of a team; a part of something bigger than yourself. It’s humbling.”
For those that are considering joining the Army, her advice was: “If you have that pull in your heart to serve your country, follow it. The experience you will get – the resume – it’s life- changing for me. I know it’s going to be life-changing for you, too. There are so many opportunities to get involved in for your career.”
To wrap it up, I asked for a memorable story or lesson from her career so far. “I was competing in Tokyo. My coach told me to shoot a shot on the left side of the target, knowing it was probably impossible to do. But I did it. I took the shot. I knew exactly where it was going. I hit exactly where he told me to hit. It was one of those moments where it’s like, ‘Yeah. I can do this. I have the ability; I just need to trust myself.’ The cool thing about that story though, is that he trusted and believed in me before I trusted and believed in myself. That’s one of [those] things in the Army. You’re going to have leadership that will believe in you and push you to become better than yourself; to be all you can be. And that’s – that’s huge.”
Staff Sergeant Maddalena’s goals moving forward are high – she plans to be on the Olympic podium again – and this time with gold. Stay updated on all things AMU on their Facebook and Instagram pages: U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit and @usamu1956. Watch this interview in a video format on the Syracuse Recruiting Battalion YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Y4-HvKV72CU
| Date Taken: | 09.05.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.05.2025 15:42 |
| Story ID: | 547352 |
| Location: | SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 67 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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