Marcel Mangin was a marvel at being right on target.  The marksman was the first archer to be inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, a fitting tribute to a man who won international, national and provincial titles over a 21-year span, set Canadian records and served as a judge, executive and promoter of the sport he cherished and excelled in.

But the man from Notre Dame de Lourdes said he could never have achieved what he did without his wife Denise and children Robert, Rachel and Gilbert, each of whom won at least two Canadian Championships on their own. Mangin got started in the sport when he decided to bring Robert down to try it out in 1989.  Soon, his entire family had joined in and it became a group activity.  If his family hadn’t become involved, he said, there’s no way he could have taken the time away from them to become proficient at the sport. 

On the International and national stage, few Canadians were better than Mangin.  He won the International Prairie 3-D Championships in Medicine Hat, in 2000, the year before he retired from competitive shooting.  That same year, he came 15 th at the IBO 3-D World Championships in West Virginia competing against more than 250 of the best archers from around the globe.

Gold, Silver and Bronze medals followed him wherever he went.  He won silver at the Canadian 3-D Championships in 2000 and bronze the year before that after winning gold in 1998, one of his best years on the circuit.  He was first at the Canadian 3-D Championships that same year. Shooting in front of a supportive  crowd at the 1998 Canadian FITA Championships in Winnipeg, he won gold medals in both the target and field championships.  He also won gold in both individual and team events at the Canadian 3-D Championships in Dauphin in 1995. But that also was a special year – he brought two more gold home from the Canadian FITA Target and Field Championships in Toronto.

On a provincial level, he was dominant.  Mangin finished first at the Manitoba Archer of the Year Championships in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2000 and won numerous other provincial titles in those years and others. Marcel Mangin held Canadian records in the Senior Men’s Bowhunter Unlimited at 50 metres, had more than 250 trophies, was awarded the Order of Sport Excellence award in 1996, served as vice-president of the Archers and Bowhunters Association of Manitoba for two years, is a club level judge and was assistant director of shooting for the 1997 Canada Games in Brandon.