Matthew Emmons' 4.4 Points Cost Him 50m Rifle 3-Positions Gold Medal at Beijing Olympics

Matthew Emmons[wikipedia], the American shooter who wrongly shot at another participanter's target in the final of the Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions in the 2004 Athens Olympics, re-lived a nightmare in Beijing August 17. With one shot left and 3.3 points advantage over other competitors, Matthew Emmons needed only a mediocre shot of 7.6 to win a gold medal in the same event. But the ghosts hauled Emmons again, this time he fired the last shot and scored a mere 4.4, spoiling his bid for a medal at the Games. As a result, China's Qiu Jian won the gold, Jury Sukhorukov of Ukraine the silver and Rajmond Debevec took the bronze.

2008Beijing Olympics Matthew Emmons's 50m Rifle 3-Positions shoot video screenshot (via Sohu.com)

Update: Matthew Emmons explained the cause that led him fire an ill-fortunated shot.