Coming from a family of fine marksmen, Gil Boa rose to the top of Canada's rifle shooting ranks. Over the course of his three-decade career, Boa held 12 national small bore rifle titles and claimed some of the world's most prestigious shooting prizes. In 1951, Boa won the King's Prize at Bisley, the most coveted of military shooting awards and the first of his many significant victories. In 1954, he claimed the gold medal at the World Championships, setting a world record with a score of 598 out of 600. Upholding his reputation as an extremely cool shot, Boa won the Governor General's Prize at the Canadian Rifle Association meet the following year. Boa represented Canada at the Olympics four times, winning a bronze medal in 1956. His medal collection also includes a gold from the 1966 Commonwealth Games as well as two silver and one bronze from the 1971 Pan-American Games. Like his father before him, Boa steeped his children in the tradition of marksmanship. Although he passed away at the premature age of 49, the name Boa continues to make headway for Canada in the world of rifle shooting.