With at least five gold medals racked in World Championships, World Cup Finals and the Athens Olympic Games, the American shooter Matthew Emmons enjoyed a glory that few people could equal.
However, even fewer people had made as big a mistake as he did at the 2004 Olympics, when the 27-year-old athlete, just a shot away from his gold in men's 50-meter rifle three positions, had last bullet plunged into another shooter's target.
"Crap happens," he said after the event, "I'll live to shoot another day."
And he did.
Although at the Good Luck Beijing ISSF World Cup, recognized as a warming-up before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the famous shooter failed to advance to the final in men's 50-meter rifle prone and finished only fourth in men's 50-meter rifle three positions, Emmons didn't seem to care much.
"I won't show my best here," he said, "it was just a test event for experience and..just a world cup medal. It doesn't mean anything."
What he really desired was a breakthrough in men's 10-meter air rifle event, in which he just took back a silver.
With 700.7 points, Emmons said that the silver medal was more than he expected. "The score of 599 (in the qualification round) is my personal best in World Cups, although it wasn't my best final," he said, "There has to be No. 1 and No. 2. I am happy with the result. I really am."
Emmons won't show up in the arena of this discipline at the Olympic Games. "So it was my Olympics," he said.
"It was a good sign that better events are coming up soon," noted the excited shooter.
In fact, he could have done better. A slow shooter, the American man said he didn't do well in the last shot. "It normally takes me 30 seconds for a shot. But this time, the spectators reacted easily, so I fired faster."
When he was shooting, wearing the clothes of his father-in-law in the belief that the 14-year-old uniform could bring his good luck, his wife Katerina Emmons who just picked up a gold in women's 10-meter air rifle two days ago said she " crossed fingers for him".
"He has problems with air rifle recently," said Katerina, "he didn't lose anything. He earned his medal."
Katerina, better known with her original name surname Kurkova before marriage, was bronze medalist at the Athens Olympics in 2004. The sports gala would be forever remembered by Emmons not only because he lost his medal with the well-known mistake, but as he met his Miss Right.
The couple got married on June 30 last year in Katerina's hometown Plzen, the place where golden lager beer was born in 1842.
"We are a shooter couple. She helps me in air rifle and I help her in small-bore," said husband with happiness written on his face.
While Katerina was behind him as he opened fires, Emmons said, "she imposes no pressure on me."
Actually, he did the same when the Czech markswoman outscored World Record holder Du Li to grab gold in women's 10-meter air rifle last Saturday.
Looking into the forthcoming Olympics, Katerina has confidence in her husband. "He is quite strong in men's rifle three positions and prone and I think he is quite likely to win," she said proudly.
In comparison, Emmons seemed more cool-headed.
"If you come to every competition with the expectation to win, you will find that it probably not gonna happen. There are many good shooters and you can't strike everyone. Tiger Woods is the best golf player, but he doesn't win every competition for sure," he said.
"If I can walk in here, feeling that I have done everything and performed my best, that's enough," added the marksman in the mixed zone.
(Xinhua News Agency April 21, 2008)