09Emmons won his third World Cup’s 50m Rifle Three Positions Gold medal this year. The American shooter, ranked first in the world in this event, is now looking forward to the ISSF World Championship.

The rifle champion Matthew Emmons left no chances to his opponents, at today’s 50m Rifle Three Positions Men competition, at the fourth and last stage of this year’s ISSF World Cup Series held in Belgrade, Serbia.

The 29-year old American shooter, an Olympic Medallist of Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, shoot three excellent qualification stages (Prone 397, Standing 390, Kneeling 394), making it into the final round in the lead with the highest qualification score of 1181 points, and with five points of advantage on the second shooter, Russia’s Khadjibekov.

Fighting against the strong wind blowing from the right to the left side of Belgrade’s shooting range, Emmons managed his head-start over his opponents, scoring 97.4 points during the final and climbing on the highest step of the podium with a total score of 1278.4 points.

“I shot couple of eighths, because of the wind.” Said the American champion, right after the match “It picked up quite strong during the final, affecting the bullets. I tried to compensate, but it hasn’t been easy, today!”

“In spite of all, I am happy that I am on the podium again. This is my third Gold medal in this event, this year… I am feeling great!” continued Emmons, who is currently ranked first in the world in this event after his victories at this year’s World Cup stages in Sydney and Fort Benning.

Counting today’s Gold, the American shooter has won three out of this year’s four World Cup’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions competitions, with a 100% success rate, as he only participate in three World Cup stages.

“This has been the last big match before the World Championship – concluded the Gold medallist – Probably I am going to compete in a local match in Pilsen, but my next aim is the World Championship in Munich.” Emmons said, mentioning the 2010 ISSF World Championship in all events that will kick-off in Munich next 29^th of July.

Today’s Silver medal went to the 40-year Russian Olympian Artem Khadjibekov, who finished in second place with a total score of 1274.9 points after shooting today’s highest final score (98.9 points).

Austria’s Mario Knoegler, 30, currently ranked second in the world in this event, took the Bronze medal with a total score of 1268.1 points, climbing from the fifth place. The Austrian shooter had won his last ISSF medal a couple of months ago, when he had claimed a Silver at the ISSF World Cup stage held in Sydney.

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The Olympic medallist of Athens and Beijing Matthew Emmons of the USA won today’s 50m Rifle Three Positions Men event at the ISSF World Cup in Sydney, Australia, the first stage of this year’s ISSF World Cup Series in Rifle and Pistol events.

The winter break did not affect the scores of Emmons: he had concluded the 2009 season in first, by winning the ISSF World Cup Final in Wuxi, and after a the winter break he came back to ISSF competitions as strong as ever. The 28-year old American sharpshooter, currently leading the world rank in this event, kept up with his fans’ expectations claiming the first Gold medal of the season with a total score of 1272.6 points, and leaving his opponents far behind him.

Making it into the final in second place with 1170 points, Emmons climbed in the lead with an excellent final of 102.6 points, the highest score of the round, overtaking Austria’s Mario Knoegler to finish on the highest step of the podium.

“It was challenging. Standing hasn’t been easy, today. I was not as confident as I would like to be.  I did a lot of work to calm myself down, to shoot the best shots that I could, and fortunately that turned out to be ok!” Emmons said after the match.

Austria’s Mario Knoegler, 30, secured Silver with a total score of 1270.0 points, his second medal in this World Cup stage, following the Bronze he had won at the Air Rile match five days ago. Qualified with 1170 points, Knoegler lost two precious points on his fifth competition shot, when he fired a disappointing 8.1 that landed him in second place.

Bronze went to the “2009 Shooter of the Year” Peter Sidi of Hungary, who climbed all the way up from the fourth place by shooting 102.4 points during the final round. The 31-year old Hungarian shooter climbed upon the podium with a total score of 1268.4 points, grabbing his second World Cup Bronze in this event seven year after the 2003 World Cup Stage in Fort Benning.

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Only EMMONS can beat EMMONS in the 50m Rifle Three Positions Event. It had happened four years ago at the Games, when the 27-year old American shooter cross-fired hitting the wrong target and loosing Gold. It happened again today: EMMONS, leading with more then 3 points of advantage after the ninth final shot, fired an unbelievable shot of 4.4 points on his last shot, falling out of the podium and landing in fourth place.
Nobody else could beat him, today. He had started in second, climbing up in first after that the qualifications leader DEBEVEC had fired two poor shots in seventh. EMMONS kept shooting with the highest average, building up a consistent advantage, right up to the ninth shot.
When everybody though that he was going to become the new Olympic Champion and to grab that Gold waiting for him since Athens, EMMONS pressed the trigger to early, scoring that 4.4.
“I didn’t feel my finger shaking, but I guess it was – said Emmons right after the fatal mistake – I realized it went off and I hoped it made into the black. I call it a freak of nature; If I have made it into the bull’s eye, it would have been great…”
The American shooter landed in fourth place, followed live by his wife Katerina, commenting the match for a Czech Television “To shot 4.4 in final and still finish in fourth place… that’s pretty damn good!” said EMMONS “My performance in Athens final kind of got shooting on the map. This is just another crazy thing that will bring shooting some attention.”
“What happened today I think will keep him going, keep him determined and he will be more experienced. This will keep him pointed in the right direction” commented EMMONS wife Katerina, the first medallist of the 2008 Olympic Games.
“That medal still waiting for me, I will run for the 2012 Games” announced EMMONS, who had expressed his intention to take some time off from shooting after Beijing, three days ago. “The Emmons’ team reached three medals here in China, we will be back for more!”

While EMMONS was falling into Athens nightmare, the 50m Rifle Three Positions Event Gold medal went to the Chinese shooter QIU Jian, a 33-year old athlete who had never won a Gold medal in this event before, surely not the most favourite to finish on an Olympic podium. QUI looked surprised himself about his placement “I have to admit I have been a little bit lucky!” commented QUI, who finished in first with a total score of 1272.5 (1173+99.5) points.
QUI won the fifth Gold medal for China in shooting sport in this Olympic edition, helping to better the result of four Golds reached by the Chinese team at the last Games of Athens.

EMMONS mistake also gave a spot on the podium to Rajmond DEBEVEC of Slovenia, the 2000 Olympic Champion of Sydney and probably the most successful shooter ever in this event. DEBEVEC placed in third, winning Bronze with 1271.7 (1176+95.7) points.
The Slovenian shooter had started in first place after the qualifications, with one point of advantage on EMMONS, but lost his front position by scoring two shots in seventh ring in the first three shots.
“When I won the Games of Sydney I knew I was the best shooter of the World. I went there thinking that nobody could beat me. Today has been different – commented the 45-year old DEBEVEC – I felt the pressure. I started with two sevens… Then I relaxed a little bit, I changed my positions, and I started firing good shots…” The Slovenian champion grabbed the medal by closing his round with a 10.8, an excellent shot “… the opposite of what happened in Athens, where I had lost a medal by a few tenths, firing an 8 as last shot…”

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The first Gold medal of the XXIX Olympiad was assigned by the shooting sport, at the 10m Air Rifle Women Final, and was won by the Czech shooter Katerina EMMONS, the 2004 Olympic Bronze medallist in this event. Which is the better way enter the very first Olympic final? Sure, with a new Olympic Record! This could have thought Katerina EMMONS, who came out of the qualification rounds with an outstanding score of 400 points, the perfection, a new Olympic record. The Czech shooter entered the final match in first, with one point of advantage on the followers, and that was enough to keep her on the lead right to the end “I had shot 400 points at least five times, always out of official competitions. I was so happy to shot this score today, during the Games!”
The Final Hall of the Olympic Shooting Venue hosted the IOC President Dr. Jacques Rogge and the ISSF President Mr. Olegario Vazquez Raña that followed the match and awarded the medallists. The Venue turned out to be overcrowded by media: the first medal of the Games always gains the maximum coverage, so that more then 200 journalists, and a number of photographers and cameramen followed the match. But Katerina did not seem impressed about it, and shot keeping on the lead right to the end, closing the round with a new Final World Record of 503.5 points “I did not understood I had scored a new final record. Matthew told me right before the awarding!” Matthew, the Olympic Rifle Gold medallist of Athens 2004 Matthew EMMONS, Katerina’s husband, followed the final round from the honour tribune, and was the first to congratulate her at the end of the match. “Matthew is my best team-mate. We work as a team, the best team in the World!” The question came natural: Katerina, are you going to shoot for the USA in the next future? “I could. I don’t know if I will keep shooting for Czech Republic. Lets say that I would like to leave both the doors opened. What is sure is that I will take a break next year – added Emmons – I think I may take one year off from shooting. We want to have a family, and I really need rest after these four, intense, years”. Katerina defeated her most titled opponents, during this golden final. World’s number one DU Li of China, the Olympic title defender, finished out of the podium in fifth place, behind the American shooter Jamie BEYERLE and with a final score of 499.6 points. The result came unexpected. The home athlete was said to be one of the most favourite, and her defiance could be explained only by the pressure mounting on the home team during these days “I really feel bad for DU Li – said Katerina EMMONS at the press conference – She can absolutely shoot better then this. The Chinese media probably put to much pressure on her. It has been hard for me, with no journalists on the shoulders, I can imagine that it has been even harder for her.”
The results of the 10m Air Rifle competition confirmed the Russian shooter Lioubov GALKINA as Silver medallist. The 35-year old athlete, second with 502.1 points, had won Silver also at the last Games of Athens, and she did not hide her emotions while standing on the podium “This is a great day! At the beginning of the round I thought I could maybe finish in third: this Silver was unexpected.” Four years ago, after winning Silver in the Air Rifle Event, Galkina became the 2004 Olympic Champion in the 50m Rifle Three Positions competition, and now expectations for the incoming competition are growing “We will see… I am not used to this weather. Sure, with air-condition, in the 10m all, I did not suffer the humidity. But conditions are going to be different on the 50m hall, which is open. – continued Galkina – It is not easy to stand there for hours with those heavy shooting suits. But the 50m Rifle Three Position Event is my favourite, so… we will see!”
Next to the defiance of the super-favourite home athlete DU Li, a surprise came from Snjezana PEJCIC, 26, from Croatia, the Bronze medal winner. She had never stood on an international podium as senior shooter before, but here in Beijing she showed to have the right skills to challenge the experts. She entered the round in third place, and never gave up, shooting in the tenth ring with precision “I started with the same qualification score of DU Li – she said after the match – and I thought I could never make it to the podium. Come on, she is so strong! But then I realized she was missing and missing, while I was trying to give my best. I won the Bronze, while she is out of the podium – Snjezana continued – but I can understand her: the pressure on the Chinese team is incredible, DU has been followed by journalists and photographers since the first shots of the morning. That’s too much!”
The first medals of this XXIX Olympiad, the first medals of the shooting sports, where awarded by the IOC President, Dr. Jacques Rogge, who honoured the shooting family by following the final round near by the ISSF President Dr. Olegario Vazquez Raña. Dr. Rogge implicitly confirmed what he said last August, at the ISSF 100 years anniversary in Munich: “The shooting sports open the Games: this is becoming a tradition!”

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Emmons’ silver medal joins the gold and silver medals that his wife Katerina won in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle and the Women’s 50m Rifle Three Positions.

Emmons will be disappointed that he could not reproduce the gold medal he won in the event at Athens 2004, but he was satisfied with his performance today.

“It’s the best match of my life. It is the best I can shoot. It’s very hard to walk into a final two points behind. It’s not impossible to come back from that, but it’s very difficult,” said Emmons.

Emmons finished the qualification round in second place with a total of 597, two points behind eventual gold medalist Artur Ayvazian of Ukraine.

Ayvazian shot consistently in the final and was able to defend his lead, winning the gold medal with a final score of 702.7 points. Emmons finished with a total score of 701.7.

Ayvazian, 35, finished ninth in the event at Athens 2004 and believes his previous Olympic experience helped him win the gold medal.

“I am not surprised because I have participated in the Olympics three times and I have done a lot of preparation work,” said Ayvazian.

Ayvazian is the first Ukrainian to win a gold medal in the Men’s 50m Rifle Prone.

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Matthew Emmons of the United States is a strong chance to win his second gold medal in the event, following on from his success at Athens 2004.

For inspiration, Emmons does not need to look any further than his wife Katerina, who has already won two medals at Beijing 2008 — a gold medal in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle and a silver medal in the Women’s 50m Rifle Three Positions.

Emmons will be challenged by Australian Warren Potent, who equaled the World record for a final score at the Beijing World Cup in April 2008.

After winning bronze medals at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, Belarusian Sergei Martynov will be looking to up the ante and win gold.

The qualification round of the Men’s 50m Rifle Prone will begin tomorrow at 9 a.m. local time (UTC/GMT +8), while the final will begin at 11:30 a.m. The top eight shooters from the qualification round advance to the final.

In addition to the Men’s 50m Rifle Prone, the first qualification stages of both the Men’s Skeet and the Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol will be held tomorrow.

There will be a total of four past gold medalists in the Men’s Skeet: Italian Andrea Benelli (Athens 2004), Ukrainian Mykola Milchev (Sydney 2000), Italian Ennio Falco (Atlanta 1996) and German Axel Wegner (1988).

The only gold medalist from the previous five Games that will not be present will be China’s Zhong Shan, the only woman to a win a shooting event that was open to both women and men. Women now have their own Skeet event, which was won by Italy’s Chiara Cainero today.

The Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol promises to be a battle between two German shooters. Germany’s Ralf Schumann will embark on his campaign to win a fourth Olympic gold medal in the event.

However, his compatriot Christian Reitz broke the world records for both the qualification and final scores at the Milan World Cup in May 2008. The 21-year-old Reitz will need to handle the pressure of shooting at the Olympics and not be outwitted by his experienced opponent, the 46-year-old Schumann.

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