Silver Medal = Olympic Team Slot

[Guest]

By Mary Beth Vorwerk
USA Shooting

BANGKOK, Thailand - 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Matt Emmons of Browns Mills, N.J., captured the Silver Medal today in the Men's 50-Meter Free Rifle Prone event at the 2007 International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup. With his second place finish, Emmons also earned a nomination to the 2008 Olympic Team.

After the preliminary 60, Sergei Martynov of Belarus was leading the competition with a score of 599. Emmons was in second with 597 and Warren Potent of Australia was in the third spot with 596. Two-time Olympian Sgt. 1st Class Thomas A. Tamas of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit was in fifth place with 593.

Emmons shot a final score of 105.7 and caught Martynov on the last shot to tie the game and force a sudden death shoot off. Martynov shot a 10.8, while Emmons shot a 10.2 to secure the Silver Medal.

Emmons earned a nomination to the U.S. Olympic Team for one of the Men's Prone Rifle quota slots by earning points through selected international competitions. The second Men's Prone Olympic team position will go to the winner of the Olympic Selection match in May at Fort Benning, Ga.

"Matt Emmons and Tom Tamas entered this competition neck and neck for the slot. Their results on the international match scene have truly been outstanding for the last two years and they have pushed each other to elite levels," said Maj. Dave Johnson, National Rifle Team coach. "The Olympic Selection procedure was designed both to select our top athletes for the Olympic Team and to better prepare our top athletes for international success. Both Tom and Matt have demonstrated the ability to succeed at the top of our sport and either could have earned this slot and contended for the Olympic podium next year."

Eighty-six athletes from 29 countries are competing at the 2007 ISSF World Cup Final. Competition runs through Oct. 7. The top shooters in the world are invited by the ISSF to attend the World Cup Final based on performances in the World Cup circuit throughout the year.

Tomorrow's competition will include the Men's 50-Meter Three-Position Rifle event and the Men's 25-Meter Rapid Fire Pistol event. Emmons as well as 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist Maj. Michael E.
Anti of the Army Marksmanship Unit will compete in the Men's 50-Meter Three Position Free Rifle event and Army Staff Sgt. Keith Sanderson of San Antonio, Texas, will compete in the Rapid Fire Pistol event.
Sunday's competition will showcase U.S. shooters Emmons and Jamie Beyerle of Lebanon, Pa., in Men's and Women's 10-Meter Air Rifle.

For complete World Cup Final results, visit the following link on the ISSF TV website:
http://www.issf.tv/issftv_table.aspx?mo ... ist=721&co
llapse=results.

(Formed in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to raise the standards of marksmanship throughout the U.S. Army, the Army Marksmanship Unit is assigned to the Accessions Support Brigade of the U.S. Army Accessions Command. The Marksmanship Unit trains its Soldiers to win competitions and enhances combat readiness through train-the-trainer clinics, research and development. For more information on the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, contact the Public Affairs Office at (706) 545-5436, paula.j.randall@us.army.mil or www.usamu.com. USA Shooting is recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Shooting Sport Federation as the national governing body for the Olympic and international shooting sports in the United States. For more information on USA Shooting, contact Public Relations Manager Mary Beth Vorwerk at (719) 866-4896, marybeth.vorwerk@usashooting.org or http://www.usashooting.com.)