Murdock, Margaret (1942–)

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Murdock, Margaret (1942–)

American Olympic shooting champion. Born Margaret L. Thompson, Aug 25, 1942, in Topeka, Kansas; attended nursing school, specializing as an anesthetist; graduate of Kansas State University, 1965; children: at least one.

The 1st female member of a US Olympic shooting team and the 1st woman to win a medal in an Olympic shooting competition, won a silver medal in the small-bore rifle competition at Montreal Olympics (1976); previously, had won a gold medal at Pan-American Games with a World record (1967), the 1st time a woman had ever surpassed the men's record in any sport; set many individual and team records in her sport and won 14 World team championships, 7 individual World championships, and 5 Pan American gold medals; is the only woman ever ranked in the world's top-ten shooters list of the International Shooting Union.

See also Women in World History.