Namibia begins World Champs campaign today

The Namibia Precision Rifle Association (NAPRA) team begins its campaign at the International Precision Rifle Federation (IPRF) Centerfire World Championship in Texas, United States, today.

Francois Marais, Liebies Liebenberg, Janus van der Merwe, Keiran Mans, Dirk Sauber and Michael Barlow will compete in the Open Division at the Gravestone Precision Shooting Range near Lipan, with their final day of competition scheduled for Sunday.

The six Namibians attended the official opening ceremony yesterday before turning their attention to the range, where they will have to contend with high temperatures, wind and dusty conditions.

The championship has attracted 282 competitors from 24 nations, with shooters taking on 20 stages and firing about 200 rounds over the course of the event.

Competitors in the Limited, Mil/LEO, Factory, Juniors, Ladies and Seniors categories opened their campaigns yesterday and will return to the range tomorrow for their final day of competition.

Namibia heads into the championship with recent success at this level after the six-member NAPRA team won a historic silver medal in the Open Division at the 2024 IPRF World Championships in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Namibia finished ahead of several established precision-shooting nations, including bronze medallists Australia, as well as Norway, Great Britain, New Zealand, Sweden, South Africa, Ireland and Canada.

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