3XAIR Pre-Olympic Match in Colorado
Over 200 rifle and pistol airgun shooters from the United States as well as Canada, Czech Republic, France, and Puerto Rico competed at the U.S. Olympic Shooting Center in Colorado Springs, CO at the 2007 USA Shooting 3XAir Match. The 3-day event served as a qualifier for the Bavarian Airgun Match, to be held in January.
Americans with Olympic experience performed well in the first two days of competition. Olympic gold medalist Matt Emmons won the Men’s Air Rifle title for the second day in a row, finishing the competition with a total score of 703.1. (On Day 1, Matt shot a perfect 600 score, tying a national record set by Matt Rawlings.) Rawlings competed in the 3XAir Rifle match as well, and finished second with 697.2. Two-time Olympian Jason Parker, a member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU), finished third with 697.0.
Jason Turner, a 2004 USA Olympian, took first place for Men’s Air Pistol with a score of 679.0. Two-time Olympian and USAMU shooter Daryl Szarenski took second with 675.3.
In other results, Katy Emmons of the Czech Republic captured first place in Women’s Air Rifle for the second day in a row after shooting a perfect score of 400, then firing a 103.3 in the finals for a total of 503.3. Emily Caruso, a 2004 USA Olympian, took second place with 500.1.