Olympic Update 3: Matthew Emmons

Matthew Emmons, a name which is probably not known by many people, really got my attention today. If you knew him, then you probably did from the 2004 Athens Olympic game. He was in the final of the 50m rifle three positions shooting competition that time and he was leading after the 9th shot, gold medal was at his fingertips. But something terrible happened in the last shot. He accidentally cross-fired (shot on another person's target) and lost the chance of winning gold medal, he finished 8th.


He was devastated, no doubt. Olympic gold medal was so close and then suddenly gone within seconds. I could not imagine the emotions that went through his mind. Luck was definitely not on his side when he pulled that last trigger. But still he wasn't all out of luck.

Katerina, a Czech shooter who was competing at the same Olympic games as well, felt that she had to have a word with Matthew, because she had a bad game that day too. And so that's how Matthew met his wife. He lost his gold medal, but in the end, he met the love of his life. They tied the knot in 2007.

Both husband and wife came back for the 2008 Olympic games. Katerina managed to grab gold in the 10m air rifle, which is the 1st gold of this year's Olympic. That was when I started to notice Katerina because she defeated China's Du Li. Her husband was there to congratulate her, but I didn't know about their relationship then.

Today, Matthew competed in the 50m rifle three positions again, trying to get the gold medal which he should 4 years ago. After the qualifying round, he was in the first place, entering the final 10 shots. 9 shots was fired by the finalists and Matthew was 3.3 points ahead of the second place competitor, considered a big lead in this game.

In the last shot, he didn't repeat his previous mistake of cross-firing. However, he made a serious mistake of shooting 4.4 points (maximum point is 10.9). The gold medal slipped from his hands once again, he was so close to it. He ended up 4th place. His wife was in disbelieve watching the final shot by her husband.

Matthew looked a bit upset, there was nothing he could do. Still, he walked up to the gold medalist and congratulate him. The camera then showed his wife kissing him and hugging him by the head and her face still smiling, trying to comfort him. This really touched me, more than the fact that the gold was won by the Chinese.


I am touched by the love that Katerina has for Matthew. I am touched by Matthew's great sportsmanship. I really hope that something good will happen after this, just like how he got to meet his wife 4 years ago. And if he would be in the next Olympic games, I wish him all the best and may the next Olympic gold medal be his, he really deserves it. Good luck to you, Matthew.