Oklahoma was represented 100 years ago in the running deer event at the 1924 Olympics in Paris

On April 20, 1924, this excerpt appeared in The Daily Oklahoman about the state championship for small-bore rifle shooters to be held in Tulsa.

. ..The entry of Major J.K. Boles, U.S.F.A., who's stationed at Fort Sill put a different aspect on the prospects of some of the likely candidates for first honors.

The major is one of the four best riflemen in the United States and has represented this nation in the last two international free rifle matches at Milan, Italy and Camp Perry, Ohio.

Maj. J.K. "John Keith" Boles would represent the United States in the 1924 Olympics held in Paris.

The 2024 Olympic Games website at https://olympic s.com/athletes includes this biography of John Keith Boles:

A major in the army in 1924, John Boles is the only American trained in this country to have any success in the running deer event. Boles was a career army officer joining in 1912 after serving in the Arkansas National Guard for several years. Boles served for several years in the Philippine Islands and had his first experiences there hunting big game, which became his hobby. Boles eventually reached the rank of colonel, though his son, John Jr., would become a famous full general officer.

Of the five events Boles would compete in, he won a gold for Running Target, Single Shot and a bronze for Running Target Single shot, Team. The other events he placed 5th, 7th and 12th.

The 2024 Paris Olympics will begin on July 26, but spectators will not see the running deer competition, called that because a life-sized deer target was propelled across the shooting course. The event was discontinued after the 1956 Olympics.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma was represented 100 years ago in the running deer event at the 1924 Olympics in Paris