Then his 3.3 point lead vanished when he posted a 4.4 on his final shot.

Over the next eight shots, Emmons extended his lead to 3.3 points. In the ten-shot final, Emmons overtook the leader after just the first shot. In his second event, 50 metre rifle three positions, Emmons finished the qualification round in second place, 1 point behind the leader. He never found out who the saboteur was, but said 'I'd like to know so I could shake their hand and say thanks.' Īt the 2008 Summer Olympics, Emmons won the silver medal in the prone competition. 'Somebody took a screwdriver and went in.' Emmons went on to the 2004 Summer Olympics, and his gold medal in the prone position event, using his former University of Alaska Fairbanks teammate, Amber Darland's. I said, 'Something's wrong here'.' Emmons said it could not have been an accident: 'Oh no, no,' Emmons said. I shot it and I couldn't get the shell out. 'Sure enough, somebody had done something to it. 'I unpacked my gun and I noticed that something wasn't right,' Emmons said. The precisely tuned barrel and action were heavily damaged by what appeared to be a screwdriver. In April 2004, just prior to the Olympic Team Trials, Emmons discovered his rifle had been severely sabotaged in the supposedly secure locker room at the United States Olympic Training Center. Įmmons's gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the prone position came while using a borrowed rifle. In Athens, he was very close to winning a historic double, but in the three positions competition, he accidentally cross-fired his last shot and finished eighth.

He was also successful in the 50 metre rifle prone, winning both the 2002 ISSF World Shooting Championships and the 2004 Summer Olympics in this event. He won both the 2002 ISSF World Cup Final and the 2004 ISSF World Cup Final in this event. Emmons started out as a successful junior and has been a holder of the junior world record in 50 metre rifle three positions.

Russian sharpshooter olympics