Matthew Emmons of the United yesterday won the gold medal in the men’s 50 meters rifle prone shooting at the Athens Olympics while Russia’s Lioubov Galkina took gold in the women’s 50 meters rifle three positions.
The world champion Emmons scored at total of 703.3 points, 599 in the rounds and 104.3 in the final shots.
Christian Lusch of Germany took silver with 702.2 (598 and 104.2) while Sergei Martynov of Belarus won the bronze with 701.6 (596 and 105.6) points.
“It’s fabulous. It couldn’t be any better,” said Emmons afterward. “I just missed out on a medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games but winning the gold medal has made me feel great.”
Lusch said the pressure was immense in the final: “Now with the medal I have reached extreme heights. The phycological pressure was big during the final because it needed precision. I was in very good condition.”
Earlier, Galkina won the women’s 50 meters rifle three positions shooting event to go with the air-rifle silver she won a day earlier.
Galkina scored 199 in the prone, 191 in the standing, 197 in the kneeling and 101.4 in her final shots for a total of 688.4 points.
“I am very happy with the medal that I won,” said Galkina. “Before I came to Athens, I was very confident that I was going to win medals in both events. I didn’t fear any opponents during the final, only myself.”
Valentina Turisini of Italy won the silver with 685.9 points - 197 in prone, 193 in standing, 195 in kneeling and 100.9 in her final shots.
Wang Chengyi of China took bronze with 685.4 points - 196 in prone, 195 in standing, 193 in kneeling and 101.4 in her final shots.
“I am satisfied with the result,” said Wang.
South Koreans Win Men’s Doubles Gold
South Korea took the gold medal in the men’s doubles badminton at the Athens Olympics yesterday and the Southeast Asian nation also won through to the men’s singles final for the first time.
In an all-South Korean doubles final, Kim Dong-moon and Ha Tae-kwon steamed past Lee Dong-soo and Yoo Yong-sun 15-11, 15-4.
The No. 3 seeds secured the gold medal on their first match point with a backhand winner from Kim.
Indonesians Eng Hian and Flandy Limpele defeated Jens Eriksen and Martin Lundgaard Hansen of Denmark in the bronze medal match 15-3, 15-7.
Although Kim and Ha took the bronze four years ago in Sydney when Lee and Yoo won silver, the result was not a surprise.
The new Olympic champions have more of a pedigree in top-level tournaments and had beaten Lee and Yoo in all of their previous 10 meetings in international competition.
“With all these years come ability and experience. We had more experience,” said Ha, a 29-year-old veteran who said he would now consider whether to retire from the sport.
The final capped a good day for South Korea after Shon Seung-mo - partially sighted in one eye after he was hit by a shuttlecock during training as a teenager - defeated Indonesian Soni Dwi Kuncoro in the men’s singles semifinal.
Today’s final will pit Shon against Taufik Hidayat, an unseeded Indonesian who has kept a fiery temper under control to become one of the surprises of this competition.
Hidayat defeated Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand to reach the gold medal match.
Hundreds of Indonesian fans wearing the national colors of red and white or traditional costumes cheered and chanted through both semifinals, providing some much-needed atmosphere for a sport which has not attracted large crowds in Athens.
