Keep that finger away from the trigger!
Too bad...
http://www.nj.com/olympics/index.ssf/2008/08/browns_mills_emmons_blows_gold.html
Browns Mills' Emmons blows gold on final shot mistake ... again
by M.A. Mehta/The Star-Ledger Sunday August 17, 2008, 10:14 PM
Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger
Teary-eyed Matt Emmons is comforted by his wife, Czech Olympic gold medal shooter Katerina Kurkova, after he scored a 4.4 on his final shot and dropped out of the medal contention.
BEIJING - He pulled off his gloves, shook his head and stared at the target in silence.
It happened again.
Matt Emmons looked up at the scoreboard. But it didn't matter. There was nothing more he could do.
He was brilliant for 129 shots, a sharpshooter poised to erase the nightmare and heartache from an inexplicable lapse four years earlier.
He had one final shot. An easy shot.
A layup.
But it happened again.
Four years ago in Athens, Emmons gaffed on his final shot of the 50-meter three-position rifle finals, accidentally firing at the wrong target. It cost him Olympic gold, but landed him the love of his life.
The Browns Mills native authored another strange chapter of a surreal story that had everyone at the Beijing Shooting Hall stunned on Sunday.
Emmons built a sizeable lead with his first nine shots and needed just a score of 6.7 to clinch the gold and finally put Athens behind him.
But he misfired again when his finger accidently hit the trigger as he lowered his rifle to the bullseye. Emmons posted an unthinkable 4.4 after his shot failed to hit the point rings and dropped him to fourth place.
Emmons' blunder propelled Qiu Jian of China to the gold medal with 1272.5 points. Jury Sukhorukov of the Ukraine took silver and Rajmond Debevec of Slovenia edged Emmons (1270.3) for bronze.
"I don't know why I'm not supposed to win this event," Emmons said. "It just really surprised me. I didn't think my finger was shaking. I guess it was."
When it was over, Emmons's wife, Katerina, leaned over the rail and held him in a long embrace, wiping away a tear.
How could this happen again?
Emmons only needed a 6.7.
"That's a walk in the park," said Christian Lilleng, who coached the bronze medalist. "But things can happen. Unpredictable things."
********
"It is the most accidental case. I'm sorry for him." -- Silver medalist Jury Sukhorukov
Long before volunteers handed out the official press release with the headline "History repeats as EMMONS (USA) blows Gold again," the 27-year-old from the southwestern part of New Jersey was ready to make a different kind of history.
Emmons, who won the silver in the men's 50-meter prone rifle competition Friday, had the second highest score in the qualifying round of the 3-position. His first three shots in the finals were exactly what he needed to seize control.
He registered a 9.7 with his first shot, his lowest score before the fateful final one. Then, a 10.2 and 10.5.
Emmons was on his way.
"I felt really good," he said. "Really comfortable."
In the run-up to the Olympics, Emmons' story of loss and love was splashed across the globe. After his miscue in Athens, he bumped into Katerina Kurkova, a shooter from the Czech Republic, at a local watering hole, who consoled him. They fell in love and married.
For a guy who always believed that things happened for a reason, Emmons knew there was a silver lining behind the mistake that cost him gold four years ago.
It turned out to be Katerina.
This time ...
"I don't know," Emmons said. "I'll have to wait and see. When something this crazy happens twice, there's got to be a good reason for it. I'm sure it will show itself with time."
********
"I thought, 'Oh my god. Not Again.'" -- coach Christian Lilleng
The next three shots were critical.
Emmons could wrap up the gold if he fired off three good ones. This was his chance to open up an insurmountable lead. Maybe he could find some breathing room.
He tallied a 10.1 on his fourth shot and then another 10.5 on the next one. He was on cruise control.
Emmons' margin widened to more than five points over his nearest competitor. Sukhorukov, Qiu and Debevec were nowhere to be found.
Emmons led by more than four points with four shots to go.
It was over.
"He shot a great match, an awesome final," said Katerina, who won the first gold medal of these Olympics last week. "I mean, look at it."
Afterward, there were questions about how Emmons could squander such a sizeable cushion. A Chinese reporter questioned his mental toughness.
"Dude, I got an Olympic silver medal, an Olympic gold medal (in prone in 2004) and I should have two more gold medals," an incredulous Emmons said. "There is nothing wrong with my mind."
So, what happened?
*******
"Something that ridiculous never happens... and it happens on the last shot of the Olympics? So, it just wasn't meant to be." -- Katerina Emmons
He was getting close. Shots 7, 8 and 9 were supposed to be his ceremonial coronation, his trip down the Champs E'Lyse.
10.1, 10.0, 9.8 -- bam! bam! bam!
But even though Emmons led Sukhorukov by 3.3 points with one shot remaining -- shot No. 130 of the competition -- the Slovenian didn't lose hope. He knew Emmons' history.
"It's strange," Lilleng said. "I was actually joking with my shooter that, 'Okay, if you are two or three points behind him, you have a chance."
The $25,000 prize money given to the gold medalist by the United States Olympic Committee would have done so much for Emmons, who has struggled to compete full time. Regardless of what happened in these Games, he wanted to give it another run for the 2012 London Olympics. But he needed money to fund his training.
None of that mattered before the final shot. He was seconds away from winning gold, seconds away from erasing Athens.
"To be honest, I felt really good going into the shot," Emmons said. "Of course, my pulse was going a little bit harder."
Everything was right in front of him.
A gold medal. A $25,000 jackpot.
Redemption.
So, he ran through every step in his mind again.
Exhale.
Raise the gun high above the target at 12 o'clock.
Slowly lower it to the bullseye.
And pull the ...
