(23 July 1996; Day 04)
Although it is not another gold, Roberto DI DONNA (ITA) won another medal Tuesday in shooting -- this time, a bronze. In the beginning of the men's 50m free pistol qualifier, it looked as if he wouldn't even make the final. His first three strings were 93, 93 and 90. He then picked up the pace to finish with strings of 97, 98 and 98, totalling 569, placing him one point behind first-place finisher Boris KOKOREV (RUS).
In the UIT Atlanta World Cup in April, DI DONNA took the gold in this event. When asked what the difference was between his two performances, he said, "It is very simple. This is the Olympic Games. The other was just the World Cup. The Olympic Games are completely different."
DI DONNA was in the first place position in the final after shot six, but only by one tenth of a point. After his eighth shot, a 7.2, he slipped from first to second. His last shot was not enough to secure him the silver medal. Igor BASINSKI (BLR) shot solidly to grab the silver medal with a final score of 662.0, only two tenths of a point better than DI DONNA.
Even so, this is the best Olympic Games performance of DI DONNA's career in shooting. "This is my third Olympic Games. " he said. "In the previous two, I was 23rd both times. The pressure was really on me to improve that result."
Italian teammate Vigilio FAIT, who qualified with a score identical to DI DONNA's, missed winning a medal in final competition. His last shot of 7.8 dropped him into fifth place with a final score of 659.8.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Janelle Whateley.
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| Pin trading was one of the most popular Olympic sports, with more than 1.2 million pins changing hands during the Games in the Coca Cola Pin Trading Center at Centennial Olympic Park. |