(20 July 1996; Day 01)
Just seconds after he completed the final round of the Olympic men's air pistol event, China's WANG Yifu passed out. His shot was recorded as a 6.5. WANG told his coach that he saw black during his final shot.
Going into the last shot, WANG had a 3.8-point lead over his closest competitor, Roberto DI DONNA (ITA), which was not enough to win him the gold after his devastating 6.5. Both DI DONNA and third-place winner Tanu KIRIAKOV (BUL) were unaware of WANG's medical condition during the match.
"I still think he's one of the greatest in shooting," DI DONNA said. "I didn't know there was a problem until I got close to the television screen." At that point he wasn't sure if something was wrong or if WANG was just "really disappointed."
Performing under pressure is one of a shooting athlete's biggest challenges because scores are so close. To be competitive, shooters must manage near-perfect scores.
With so little margin for error, DI DONNA, then in third place, had to keep a straight head after WANG passed out to shoot his best through the final. "Pressure is the key element in our sport," he said. "That's probably why I won and he lost. I really focused and kept shooting."
Ironically, WANG set an Olympic Record with his qualifying score of 587 and was only seven-tenths of a point away from beating his own final Olympic Record of 684.8, which he set in Barcelona in 1992.
WANG's blackout was not the only problem that plagued the men's air final. After the ninth shot, the power went out on the 50-meter range. It was restored about 5 minutes later, but additional time was needed to reboot all of the computers and make sure everything was working correctly. All shooters except Igor BASINSKI (BLR) had taken their shot, so he was awarded additional time to finish, and scored a 10.8. Competition resumed for all competitors on the 10th shot.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Janelle Whateley.
| The volunteer staff of the 1996 Olympic Games totaled 50,152. They worked an estimated 850,000 shifts. |