Rio –-(Ammoland.com)- Just one competition on the docket for the U.S. Olympic Shooting Team Monday on Day 3 of the 2016 Olympic Games, and we welcome Olympic newcomers Lucas Kozeniesky and Dan Lowe for the Men’s 10m Air Rifle event.
A year ago, neither athlete was much of a consideration to make the Team, but a year of hard work and they’ve earned their opportunity.
Kozeniesky’s dominance on the firing line at Olympic Trials is just the tip of the iceberg of the success he’s experienced over the past season, earning NCAA Rifle All-American honors and Most Valuable Player for the NC State rifle team. But these successes are often the last pieces you hear from Kozeniesky when asking about his passion for shooting, due to his overwhelming humbleness and appreciation for what he’s trained so hard for. Kozeniesky has built a following that is spreading across the country, radiating from a small collegiate range in Raleigh, North Carolina, where his heart lies with the Wolfpack. He finished 29th in the only World Cup appearance of his young career earlier this season in Bangkok, Thailand. He was a Junior World Team member in 2014 in Three-Position Rifle, finishing 29th.
ATHLETE EXTRA: Lucas now Leader of the Pack
Lowe is one of four athletes competing as part of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit. In two previous World Cups in 2015, he finished 60th and 70th. He’s earned three-straight runner-up finishes at USA Shooting’s National Championships in Air Rifle. He’ll also compete in Three-Position Rifle on the last day of shooting competition August 14.
ATHLETE EXTRA: Learn more about Lowe
Competition for medals will be fierce among the 48 other competitors. Romania Alin Moldoveanu is the defending Olympic champion. 2012 silver medalist Niccolo Campriani of bronze medalist Gagan Narang will likely be in the hunt again. The current Finals world-record holder Xuechao Qian of China didn’t even make the strong team that is showing its shooting prowess thus far with four medals already. Still, Yifei Cao and Haoran Yang present a formidable tandem with 18 medals between them. Hungary’s Peter Sidi is the current Qualification world-record holder with a score of 633.5 back in 2013. The U.S. has never earned a medal in this event, but does have seven top-10 finishes, including two of them (fourth and seventh) by current USA Shooting Paralympic Team coach Bob Foth, who was a silver medalist in 3P in 1992.
FORMAT: In qualification, every competitor fires 60 shots from 10 meters (33 feet) away within 1 hour and 15 minutes. The qualifications are scored in decimal points, the maximum score per shot being 10.9 points because of an additional set of 10 rings within the 10-point circle that increases the score of 0.1 points as it approaches the center of the target. The maximum qualification score is 654.0 points. Top-eight athletes from the qualification phase advance to the final match, where they can shoot up to 20 final shots. The maximum score for each shot is still 10.9 points, setting the highest possible score at 218.0 points. The eight finalists start the match with 0 points: the qualification score is not carried forward into the final round. The final begins with two series of 3 shots, to be fired within 150 seconds, followed by 14 single shots to be fired on command and within 50 seconds. After the eighth final shot, the athlete with the lowest aggregate score is eliminated from the final and places 8th. Any following elimination is determined every two shots until the gold and silver medalists are decided by the 20th and conclusive shot. If there is a tie for the lowest ranking athlete to be eliminated, the tied athletes will fire additional tie-breaking single shots until the tie is broken.
Qualification – 8:00 – 9:15 a.m. ET
Finals – 11:00 a.m. | FINALS LIVESTREAM starting at 11:00 a.m. ET