MANHATTAN — Sergeant Ivan Roe is a Manhattan native and renowned marksman—and now, an Olympian, as he returns home from the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"Knowing that I was going after having come so close twice before—it was like a huge weight off my shoulders. Like it felt like I had been cursed and it was finally over," says Sgt. Roe.
Roe began shooting when he was only seven years old after his father enrolled him in a BB-gun program.
He says, "I had no intention to go to the Olympics. I didn’t even know it as an Olympic sport. I was shooting BB-guns and just having fun with my friends."
After Sgt. Roe began competing at an international level in high school, he enlisted in the military after graduation, joining the Army Marksmanship Unit.
He qualified as an Olympic alternate two times before, finally getting the chance to compete in 2024.
"Knowing that I qualified for the Olympics next to people who have won all these medals, who are huge, famous names—it’s a good feeling. It’s hard to put into words," says Sgt. Roe.
He says becoming an Olympic competitor was hard to process—and it wasn’t until arriving in Paris that all the emotions of competing hit him.
"When I sat down for the first competition, the mixed team air rifle, I sat behind my point and just kind of got overwhelmed with the emotions and I just sat and cried for probably five minutes before the match started. And I’m gonna be honest, it was a mess of a match. I tried my best, but it was not pretty," Roe says.
Going forward, Roe says he handled the following competitions well. And despite not placing how he hoped, took home valuable perspective for the future.
"Probably one of the biggest takeaways from Paris was that I am good enough to compete with all these people. There were a lot of times in the last four years leading up to the Olympics where I was one of the best in the country—but I didn’t think I was one of the best in the world," he says.
Sgt. Roe plans to reenlist for another 4 years with the Army to refine his skills with the new goal of winning an Olympic medal.
He says, "I know I made mistakes that I shouldn’t have, and I know I can fix those. And if I hadn’t made those mistakes, I know I would’ve been in the final. So, moving forward, I’m going to correct those mistakes."
Roe says he hopes his story can be a message of hope to others coming from small Montana towns.
"I would really hope that I could inspire some kid here who thinks that maybe they don’t have what it takes, but they want to make a shot at it—to pursue whatever dream they have."
