Wenjun Guo of China captured the gold medal in women’s air pistol, coming from behind in the finals to pass Natalia Paderina of Russia, who’d fired an Olymic record 391 out of 400 in the qualification round. But in the final it was Guo setting records, tallying an Olympic record 102.3 (in the finals, each scoring ring is divided into tenths; a center 10 can score up to 10.9 points) to Paderina’s 98.1 and winning the gold with an Olympic record-setting 492.3.
Georgia’s Nino Salukvadze entered the final in fourth place with a 386 but notched a 101.4 in the final to finish with the bronze.
It took a 384 score in the qualification round to make the final, but both U.S. entrants fell well short of that mark. Brenda Shinn of Riverside, CA, had a rough first 10 shots, shooting 89 out of 100, but even though she rallied back with a 98 on the second 10-shot string she finished with a 373. Beki Snyder of Grand Junction, CO, came in three points behind that mark with a 370.
Forty-four athletes competed in the women’s air pistol qualifier, the top eight making it into the finals.
| Men's Air Pistol |
| PLACE |
ATHLETE |
QUAL. SCORE |
FINAL |
TOTAL |
|
| Gold |
Wei Pang (CHN) |
586 |
102.2 |
688.2 |
| Silver |
Jong Oh Jin (KOR) |
584 |
100.5 |
684.5 |
| Bronze |
Jong Su Kim (PRK) |
584 |
99.0 |
683.0 |
| 4th |
Jason Turner (USA) |
583 |
99.0 |
682.0 |
| 5th |
Brian Beaman (USA) |
581 |
101.0 |
682.0 |
| 6th |
Leonid Ekimov (RUS) |
582 |
98.5 |
680.5 |
| 7th |
Walter Lapeyre (FRA) |
581 |
99.3 |
680.3 |
| 8th |
Jakkrit Panichpatikum (THA) |
581 |
98.0 |
679.0 |
|
UPDATE: U.S. Shoots Strong in Men’s Air Pistol
Jason Turner of Rochester, NY, and Brian Beaman of Selby, SD, turned in strong performances in men’s air pistol, finishing just out of the medals in fourth and fifth place respectively. Turner opened with a 98 out of 100 for his first 10 shots but rebounded with a perfect 100 and at the end of the qualification round was in fourth place with a 583 out of 600—three points off gold medal pace. Beaman fired a perfect 100 on his last 10 shots to tally a 581 and enter the finals in sixth place.
Turner’s first shot in the final was an 8.8 (in the finals, each scoring ring is divided into tenths; a center 10 can score up to 10.9 points), but he recovered to shoot a 99.0. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to catch bronze medal winner Jong Su Kim of North Korea, who entered the finals with a 584 and also fired a 99.0 in the finals.
Sydney Int'l Shooting
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Beaman made up ground with an excellent final. He put together a 101.0, the second highest score in the final, to move up one spot and finish fifth.
China’s Wei Pang held a two-point lead over the field, entering the final with a 586, and there was no catching him. He notched a 102.2 in the final for the gold. Jong Oh Jin of South Korea grabbed the silver.
Forty-eight athletes competed in the men’s air pistol qualifier, the top eight making it into the finals.
Olympic event since 1988
2008 U.S. Olympians: Brian Beaman, Rebecca “Beki” Snyder,
Brenda Shinn, Jason Turner
Pistol: Any .177 caliber compressed air or gas pistol weighing not more than 1,500 grams (3.31 pounds) and with a trigger pull of no more than 500 grams (17.64 ounces). No part of the grip, frame or accessories may touch the wrist, and the heel rest must extend at an angle of less than 90 degrees. The thumb rest must allow free upward movement of the thumb, and the grip must not encircle the hand. Steyr is the dominant make, although you will see some Morini, Pardini and a few other brands.
Range: 10 meters
Scoring: The target is 155.5mm (6.1 inches) wide with scoring rings 1 to 10. The black portion containing rings 7 to 10 is 59.5mm. The 10-ring is 11.5mm (0.45 inch); the inner-10-ring is 5mm.
Course of Fire
Men: 60 shots in 1 hour, 45 minutes
Women: 40 shots in 1 hour, 15 minutes
Finals: The top eight competitors fire 10 additional shots, one at a time, with a 75-second time limit for each. Scores are immediately posted and standings updated after each shot. The top shooter from the qualification round is squadded on point one, the second-best shooter on point two and so on.
What to watch for: The long period of time the pellet spends in the bore makes this a challenging event--that and hitting a 10-ring that’s less than half an inch across. Hold, trigger control and mental toughness are all necessary ingredients to winning a medal.
The Russians, French, Chinese and Italians are all very strong on the men’s side. “Our guys [Brian Beaman and Jason Turner] are historically not quite as consistent at shooting scores at the level it takes to medal,” says U.S. pistol coach Sergey Luzov. “They can do it, and they pop into that level from time to time: Jason Turner fired a podium-level score at the Olympic trials here, and Brian has progressed big-time.”
On the women’s side, the Chinese are the big players. “With the Chinese, they have medal potentials in each event, and if everything went absolutely perfectly for them they could win two out of three medals in every pistol event--not that that’s likely to happen,” Luzov says. In women’s air pistol, however, he notes that while the Chinese have two of the best, the competition among the top 10 shooters in the world is very close.
Luzov characterized the U.S. women’s chances of medaling as slim. “Brenda [Shinn] and Beki [Snyder] are doing a good job, but right now it’s just not realistic. For us to make it into the finals would be a big thing.”
Past U.S. medalist: Erich Buljung, silver, Seoul 1988
Records
Men’s Olympic record: 591, Mikhail Nestruev, Russia, Athens 2004
with finals: 690 (590+100.0), Wang Yifu, China, Athens 2004
World record: 593, Sergei Pyzhianov, Russian Federation, 1989
with finals: 695.1 (593+102.1), Sergei Pyzhianov, Russian Federation, 1989
Women’s Olympic record: 390, Marina Logvinenko, Russia, Atlanta 1996
with finals: 490.1 (389+101.1), Olga Klochneva, Russia, Atlanta 1996
Women’s world record: 393, Svetlana Smirnova, Russia, 1998
with finals: 493.5 (390+103.5), Jie Ren, China, 1999
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