Dane Sampson

Fast Facts

Sport: Shooting
Event: 10m Air Rifle, 50m Rifle 3 Positions, 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team
Olympic History: London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020
Highlights: Making the final of the 50m Rifle 3 Positions at the 2018 World Champs & 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medal in the men’s 10m Air Rifle
Coach: Petr Kurka
Year Born: 1986
State Born: New South Wales

About Dane

Dane Sampson followed in his parents’ footsteps when he started shooting at the age of 12. Long having dreamed of representing Australia at the Olympics, he also had a desire to travel and saw sport as a means to see the world.

Growing up, Sampson perfected his craft at the Commercial Shooting Club in Brisbane. He was encouraged by his aunty, Anne Budgen, who represented Australia at a Shooting World Championships, and she regularly drove him to competitions.

Sampson made his Olympic debut at London where he finished 37th in the men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions, 48th in the men’s 50m Rifle Prone, and 42nd in the men’s 10m Air Rifle.

He competed at his first Commonwealth Games in 2014 and made the finals in the three rifle events. His best result came in the 50m Rifle Prone where he placed fourth as teammate Warren Potent won the gold.

Competing at Rio in his second Olympic Games, Sampson improved his results in each of the three events as he claimed 20th in the men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions, 31st in the men’s 50m Rifle Prone, and 37th in the men’s 10m Air Rifle.

At his second Commonwealth Games in 2018, he won a gold medal in the men’s 10m Air Rifle, finished seventh in the men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions, and 12th in the men’s 50m Rifle Prone. Sampson was delighted to win the gold medal at his home range.

That year he became the first Australian to make a World Championships final of a Rifle 3 Positions. In 2019, Sampson clinched a Tokyo Games quota spot for Australia when he finished fourth at the 2019 World Cup Final. He secured his third Olympic Games start after claiming Australia’s number one ranking in the four-round 10m Air Rifle selection series.

In Tokyo, Sampson competed in three events finishing 27th in the men’s Rifle Three Positions, 30th in the men’s 10m Air Rifle, and 22nd in the Mixed Team 10m Air Rifle where he partnered Katarina Kowplos.

In 2022, Sampson claimed a bronze medal when teaming with Jack Rossiter and Michael Davis in the men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Team event in the ISSF World Cup meet in Changwon, Korea before the trio captured the silver medal in the men’s 10m Air Rifle Team event at the ISSF World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan.