Matthew Emmons of the US reacts after placing third in the men's 50m rifle shooting from 3 positions event at the London 2012 Olympic Games.(Agencies) |
Matt Emmons earned a coveted spot on the podium and shook off his own curse — sort of. Emmons, 31, won a gold medal at the Athens Games in 2004 in the 50-meter rifle prone and a silver medal in Beijing in 2008. But at both Games, Emmons misfired on his final shot in the 50-meter rifle three position, missing out on a spot at the podium both times, finishing eighth in 2004 and fourth in 2008. Heading into the 50-meter rifle three position final here Monday afternoon, Emmons was in second place with a score of 1,172, trailing Niccolo Campriani of Italy, who scored 1,180. Many wondered whether Emmons would earn the podium or choke on that final shot. Emmons’s first nine shots were amazingly consistent, putting him back and forth with Jonghyun Kim of South Korea for a silver medal. Campriani was far ahead. Emmons made his 10th shot, and the crowd held its breath waiting for the result. Then, the score popped up. On the fateful last shot, Emmons foundered, shooting 7.6. He and the crowd at the Royal Artillery Barracks waited to see whether he would make the podium. He earned a bronze medal, finishing with a score of 1,271.3. Campriani set an Olympic record and snagged the gold medal with a score of 1,278.5; Kim took the silver with 1,272.5. “Just to be on the podium at the Olympics is a very special feeling,” Emmons said. “And I’m very, very happy for that. I’m very happy to be up there with bronze. “Of course, silver is great, gold is great, but given what I had to work with today, it was a really tough match. Probably the toughest match I’ve ever had to shoot.” Heading into the final shot, “I was much more nervous than I wanted to be,” he said. The last four years have been “really tough,” Emmons said. In 2009, Emmons and his wife, Katerina, also a shooter, were happy to give birth to a daughter. (Read by Rosie Tuck. Rosie Tuck is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
美國(guó)射擊名將馬修-埃蒙斯在倫敦奧運(yùn)會(huì)男子50米步槍三姿賽中摘得銅牌,擺脫了最后一槍失手丟牌的魔咒—當(dāng)然只是在部分程度上這樣。 31歲的埃蒙斯曾在2004年雅典奧運(yùn)會(huì)上獲得50米步槍臥射金牌,在08年北京奧運(yùn)會(huì)也摘得一枚銀牌。但在這兩屆奧運(yùn)會(huì)上,埃蒙斯都在50米步槍三姿賽的最后一槍失手,將金牌拱手讓與他人。他在這兩屆奧運(yùn)會(huì)上分別名列第八和第四。 在周一下午舉行的50米步槍三姿賽預(yù)賽中,埃蒙斯以1172環(huán)的成績(jī)位列次席,僅次于意大利選手尼可拉-卡普里亞尼,他的成績(jī)?yōu)?180環(huán)。很多人都在想埃蒙斯會(huì)穩(wěn)拿獎(jiǎng)牌還是再次兵敗最后一槍。 決賽中,埃蒙斯的前9槍發(fā)揮非常穩(wěn)定,與韓國(guó)選手金玄宗不相上下,有希望奪得銀牌。卡普里亞尼的成績(jī)則遙遙領(lǐng)先。 埃蒙斯打出最后一槍后,人們屏氣凝神,等待結(jié)果。 結(jié)果出來(lái)了。在至關(guān)重要的最后一槍?zhuān)C伤褂质至?,只打出?.6環(huán)。他和在皇家炮團(tuán)軍營(yíng)觀看比賽的觀眾們都在等待結(jié)果,看能否摘得一枚獎(jiǎng)牌。最終他以1271.3環(huán)的成績(jī)摘得銀牌。卡普里亞尼打破奧運(yùn)會(huì)紀(jì)錄,以1278.5環(huán)的成績(jī)奪得金牌。金玄宗以1272.5環(huán)的成績(jī)摘得銀牌。 埃蒙斯說(shuō):“登上奧運(yùn)領(lǐng)獎(jiǎng)臺(tái)的感覺(jué)很特別。我非常開(kāi)心,能得銅牌我很開(kāi)心?!?/p> “能得銀牌或者金牌當(dāng)然最好,但就今天的比賽來(lái)看,真是一場(chǎng)硬仗。也許是我參加過(guò)的最艱難的比賽了?!?/p> 他說(shuō),打到最后一槍時(shí),“我自己也不想這么緊張?!?/p> 埃蒙斯說(shuō),過(guò)去的四年對(duì)他而言“太艱難了”。 在2009年,埃蒙斯與他的妻子卡特琳娜生下了女兒。卡特琳娜也是一名射擊選手。 相關(guān)閱讀 倫敦奧運(yùn)再添囧事:市長(zhǎng)玩空降被卡半空 倫敦奧運(yùn)村發(fā)15萬(wàn)只避孕套創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄 2012倫敦奧運(yùn)答題抽獎(jiǎng)活動(dòng) 埃及奧委會(huì)為運(yùn)動(dòng)員提供“山寨”訓(xùn)練服 (中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津 Julie 編輯:陳丹妮) |
Vocabulary: back and forth: 反復(fù)地,來(lái)回地 founder: 失敗 |