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Parker struggles to 23rd place finish in air rifle
By Bob BerghausBEIJING—Everything was fine with Jason Parker leading up to the Olympic men’s 10-meter air rifle competition at the Beijing Shooting Range Hall on Monday.
He slept well Sunday night, and as he walked to the range before his competition he felt pre-match jitters, which was a good sign.
"I started out really well," said Parker, a sergeant first class and member of the Army Marksmanship Unit at Fort Benning, Ga. "My first shot was a good shot but from there on out it was kind of a struggle."
The third-time Olympian, who reached the finals in his previous two Games with fifth- and eighth-place finishes, respectively, placed a disappointing 23rd with a total score of 591.
Stephen Scherer, a 19-year-old cadet at West Point, was 27th with a score of 590. The event was won by Abhinav Bindra, who claimed India's first individual gold medal in Olympics history.
Parker, 34, was expecting a better showing, especially after winning the World Cup in 2005. But halfway through his round, despite not knowing what his competitors were doing because everyone competes simultaneously, he realized he wasn’t going to make the final because he had too many misses.
"I’m extremely disappointed," said Parker, a native of Omaha, Neb., and a graduate of Xavier University in Cincinnati. "My goal four years ago was to come back and win two medals, and that’s not going to happen."
Parker will compete in the men’s 50-meter rifle 3x40 event on Sunday.
Realizing midway through the competition that he wasn’t going to make the eight-man final Parker could have thrown in the towel, but that’s not in his nature.
"I realized I dropped too many points out there and there wouldn’t be anything important," he said. "I sat down and took a break and made a decision. You can roll over and give up or fight to get the best possible result.
"I’m happy I fought to the end. I finished up good and will carry that forward to my next event."
Scherer, competing in the Olympics for the first time, also had a strong finish following a shaky opening. Watching him compete was Maj. Ron Wigger, Scherer’s coach on the West Point rifle team.
"For a 19-year-old serving as a cadet at West Point and dealing with the stress of that and being able to make the Olympic team says a lot about his character," Wigger said. "It was good to see him finish strong. Looking at his shots it looked like his sights were off slightly. He didn’t discover that until near the end."