Sumner Paine
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| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's shooting | ||
Representing the  United States
| ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 |
1896 Athens | 30 m free pistol |
 |
1896 Athens | 25 m military pistol |
Sumner Paine (May 13, 1868 – April 18, 1904) was an American shooter. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.[1][2]
Biography[edit]
Sumner Paine was born in Boston on May 13, 1868.[3] His father was Charles Jackson Paine, who was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and also was the older brother to John Paine. Sumner briefly attended Harvard University before ending up at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, he earned an M.D. but never practiced, instead he went off to Paris, France, to work.[1]
Paine entered all three of the pistol events in the 1896 Games. He, along with his brother John Paine, was disqualified from the rapid fire pistol because their firearms were not of the appropriate caliber.[1]
The Paine brothers used Colt revolvers in the 25 metre military pistol event, these pistols were superior to the arms used by their opponents, and the brothers had little difficulty winning the top two spots. Sumner finished second with 380 points on 23 hits (of 30 shots) to John's 442 points on 25 hits. The next closest shooter (Nikolaos Morakis from Greece) scored only 205 points.[4]
After winning the military pistol, John withdrew from the 30 metre free pistol event, Sumner easily won this event as well, scoring exactly the same number of points (442) as John had to win the military pistol event, he did this on one fewer hit (24), though, in this case, the second place competitor scored 285 points.[5]
In 1901, Paine went home to find his wife in bed with his daughter's music teacher. To ward him away from the house, he fired four shots at him, missing each time. He was briefly jailed and charged with assault until the police realized who he was and accepted that he must have missed on purpose. He was then released.[6]
Paine died in Boston on April 18, 1904, at age 35, due to pneumonia.[3][7]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Sumner Paine". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ "Sumner Paine". Olympedia. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- ^ a b Harvard College Class of 1890 Secretary's Report No. V. Boston: The Rockwell and Churchill Press. 1909. pp. 92–93. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Shooting at the 1896 Athina Summer Games: Men's Military Pistol, 25 metres". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ "Shooting at the 1896 Athina Summer Games: Men's Free Pistol, 30 metres". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ "Guns and Whiskey - At the Olympics". petticoatsandpistols.com. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ "Obituary". Chicago Tribune. April 19, 1904. p. 5. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
External links[edit]
Olympic champions in men's 50 metre pistol | |
|---|---|
1 In 1896, the competition distance of the event was 30 metres. 2 In 1908, the competition distance of the event was 50 yards. |
- 1868 births
- 1904 deaths
- American male sport shooters
- Shooters at the 1896 Summer Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States in shooting
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States in shooting
- ISSF pistol shooters
- Harvard University alumni
- Medalists at the 1896 Summer Olympics
- University of Colorado School of Medicine alumni
- Sportspeople from Boston
- 19th-century American sportsmen