Walton Eller of the United States Tuesday added to his country's Olympic shooting gold collection in spectacular style: He broke two Olympic records in winning the men's double trap event.
In the qualifying rounds, Eller recorded 145, a score that beat UAE's Ahmed Al -Maktoum's mark by one shot.
A shooter competes in the men's 50m pistol shooting competition August 12 2008. [Agencies] |
In the final, he hit 45, for a total of 190, which bettered the record of Australian Russell Mark, also by one shot.
Eller, a soldier in the US army, felt happy that he had accomplished his mission at the Olympics.
"Being a soldier of the US army, I do what is expected of me," he said at the press conference.
"They asked me to come to Beijing and win the gold. I don't know how to better represent my country than with a gold medal in my hand."
The USA tops the all-time Olympic shooting medal tally with 49 gold. Far behind in second place is the former Soviet Union, with 17.
China is third with 16. It couldn't add to the tally Tuesday when Tan Zongliang (50m pistol) and Hu Bingyuan (double trap) managed only bronze medals.
Francesco Daniello of Italy, ranked world's No 8, took the silver in the double trap. He entered the final with the second highest qualifying score and took the silver with 187.
The emotional Italian silver medalist knelt to the grass and broke down in tears. "The psychological aspect is very important in this sport. I have always been strong technically, but I've always had trouble handling my emotions. Thanks to the help of my psychological doctor, I owe him a lot," he said.
Both Daniello and Hu shot the highest number of targets in the finals: 46 out of 50.
Hu, who had finished fourth in Athens four years ago, was happy to get a podium finish this time.
"It is a pity that I didn't do well in the last two rounds of the qualification so that I lost the chance to take the gold. But I am satisfied with my bronze. I will vie for gold at the next Games," he said.
Much was expected from Indian Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, silver medalist at Athens, especially after the gold won by compatriot Abhinav Bindra on Monday. But Rathore shot only 131 and failed to make the final round.
Koreans on top
Two Koreans outshot the top guns in the 50m pistol earlier in the day.
Jin Jong-oh of the Republic of Korea, the Athens silver medalist, and Kim Jong-su of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Athens bronze medalist, both moved a step up with brilliant shooting to take gold and silver.
Entering the final in sixth place, Jin moved into the first place after five shots and finished with a score of 660.4. It was his second medal of the Games; he got silver in the 10m air pistol.
Kim retained his second qualifying place in the final. He, too, took his second medal at the Games, having won bronze in the 10m air pistol.
Favorite Tan, a four-time Olympian, finally took his first Olympic medal, but it was a bronze.
Tan topped the qualifying but opened the final with a poor 7.9 and dropped to fourth place after the a second shot of 9.2. He had to fight hard to catch up and win his Olympic medal.
"Though it is a bronze, it is a success for me. It has proved that I am one of the top shooters," said the 2002 and 2006 world champion.
Russian veteran Mikhail Nestruev, the defending Olympic champion, continued his struggle in the international competitions by placing 24th. Current world No 1 Joao Costa of Portugal also failed to reach the final, finishing 33rd.
