McPhail, Uptagrafft just miss finals in Men's Prone Rifle - WTVM.com-Columbus, GA News Weather & Sports

McPhail, Uptagrafft just miss finals in Men's Prone Rifle

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LONDON - So, you want to be a rifle shooter in the Olympic Games? Be prepared for days like this where a millimeter determines whether you make an Olympic final or not and when sometimes not even 60 shots is enough to determine fate.

That's the outcome that awaited Michael McPhail (USAMU/Darlington, WI) at the Royal Artillery Barracks in London on Friday after shooting 39 bulls-eyes over the course of 60 shots only to still be on the outside looking in after tying with nine other competitors for five spots in the finals.

Perfection was the name of the game as it often is in this event as rifle legend Sergei Martynov of Belarus equaled a world record with a perfect 600 in qualifying and rode that score to an outstanding 105.5/109 in the final for a relatively easy 4.3 point win over Lionel Cox of Belgium. Rajmond Debevec of Slovenia was third.

With a five-shot shoot-off to determine the other five finalists, McPhail thought he was in great shape averaging a 10.26 throughout and never straying outside the 10-ring on any of the five shots. But his finals dream would be undone today by three tenths of a point, mere fractions of inch.

"I'm not disappointed with how I shot," said McPhail. "Of the 65 shots that I had, there's maybe only one that I'd want to shoot again. Shooting's no different than any other sport. If you want to be Super Bowl champion or Olympic champion you have to get the bounce and it didn't bounce in my favor today."

Shooters battled different lighting conditions and wind affects throughout the 75-minute competition.

Stepping onto the Olympic stage for the first time in 16 years, Eric Uptagrafft (USAMU/Phenix City) started slow and dropped four big points in the first two strings (twenty shots) before connecting for perfect 10s on 38 of his last 40 shots. Finishing with a 594 overall, Uptagrafft would finish one point off the pace to join the field of the nine shoot-off competitors.

"I had a few shots I wish I could call back and lost a few in the wind. I'm disappointed, but I performed a lot better than I did last time. You come into a match thinking you have to shoot a 597 and when you lose that in the first couple of shots, then you're crushed. But I felt good about the way I was able to battle through it."