ACOG - News - IBM

(22 July 1996; Day 03)

Pressure High on Shooting's Last Shot; HARBISON Claims Seventh

The tension was high in the 50m range housing the men's air rifle final today as the competitors prepared to take their tenth and final shot of Olympic competition. In his first Olympic Games performance, Rob HARBISON (USA) succumbed to the pressure that dropped him out of the medal contention, despite his top-notch performance.

"Shooting a 10 is easy," HARBISON said. "I did it 54 times this morning [in the qualifying round]. The pressure in a final is a whole different ball game." He compared the qualifying round to walking on an I-beam on the floor, and the final to walking across that same I-beam when it is between two buildings, 60m / 200 ft off the ground.

Although his last shot was a disappointing 8.4, HARBISON tied his personal best in this event with a final score of 691.1. He said he knew that his shot was not a good one by the crowd's response. "I started getting a little nervous, and that kills you in this sport. I was probably working too hard, trying to shoot a center 10 when I didn't even need a shot that good to medal," he said.

Nevertheless, HARBISON looks upon this as a learning experience. "This is my first Olympics. Three position, that's my event. Doing this well in air rifle is just icing on the cake. This is a huge day, a jewel of experience to take to Saturday. It's disappointing, but hey, I was seventh in the world today. I'm not complaining."

The pressure did not seem to affect medalists Artem KHADZHIBEKOV (RUS), Wolfram WAIBEL Jr. (AUT), and Jean-Pierre AMAT (FRA).

HARBISON will be competing in the men's three position qualifiers on Saturday with teammate Glenn DUBIS. The two U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit members are hoping to take the top medals.

This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Janelle Whateley.


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Closing Ceremony of the 1996 Games involved a crew of 2,100 who worked with more than 3,500 performers as well as thousands of athletes who celebrated on the field of Olympic Stadium.