Rifle alumna Jamie Gray takes fifth in London's first medal event
July 31, 2012
Jamie Foland
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London, England – After fighting for a spot in the eight-person final, Alaska Nanook rifle alumna Jamie (Beyerle) Gray came up short in her bid for her first Olympic medal by less than two points. She finished fifth in the Women's 10-meter Air Rifle event on Saturday morning at the Royal Artillery Barracks shooting venue.
The first gold medal of the 2012 Olympic Games went to China's Yi Siling, who staged a comeback to win with a score of 502.9. Sylwia Bogacka of Poland won silver with a 502.2 and China's Yu Dan claimed silver with a 501.5. Reigning Olympic champion Katie Emmons of the Czech Republic, who is married to Alaska Rifle alumnus and Gray's Olympic teammate on the men's side Matt Emmons, fell short of a podium spot in fourth with a 500.3.
Gray posted a total score of 499.7, while her teammate Sarah Scherer finished with a 499.0 (7th). It marked only the second time the U.S. has advanced two shooters to the final in the event, the other coming at the Sydney 2000 Olympic games.
Just to make it into the final eight competitors required grit and determination after Gray and Scherer were among five competitors finishing with a 397 out of 400 in the qualifying round that required a five-shot shoot-off for the final four places remaining in the final. Gray finished second in that shoot off to put her in sixth position overall, while Scherer was third best and came into her first Olympic final in seventh position.
A 2006 graduate of UAF, Gray fired a 9.5 on her first shot of the final and after bouncing back with a 10.5 on the second shot, was just off the center ring a second time with a 9.8 on her third of 10 shots. The two sub-10 shots put her in last place heading into the fourth round, but she steadied out to 10.1s or better the rest of the way, including back-to-back 10.7s on the fifth and sixth shots, for a 102.7 total in the final.
Gray's fifth-place position is one spot back from where she finished four years ago in Beijing. Shooting one-tenth of a point less this time around, she's now missed a medal in the discipline by 2.9 points, or less than 3 millimeters over 100 shots.
“It was interesting shooting a “0” on my first shot of sighters (practice rounds),” Gray said in a USA Shooting Press Release. “But once I got everything back together and ready it was okay. I just put them (my sights) on crooked and then couldn't find the wrench to fix it. I was a little flustered at first because I'm a slow shooter.”
Gray will compete in Women's 50-meter Three-Position Rifle event on Saturday, August 4, while fellow alumni Matt Emmons is set to take the line in the Men's 10m Air Rifle on Monday, July 30.