Former NCAA champion shooter at West Virginia University, Nicco Campriani set the Olympic record while winning the gold medal in the 50-meter rifle 3 positions event today.
Campriani's performance as a member of the Italian national team capped off a remarkable Olympic run by the Mountaineer shooters in London, who were represented WVU and their respective countries in each Olympic rifle event.
[caption id="attachment_793" align="alignright" width="209" caption="Nicco Campriani and his gold medal. Photo Credit: London2012.com"]
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WVU head coach Jon Hammond was competing as a part of Team Great Britain in London for his second Olympic Games.
Hammond struggled in the 3 positions, recording a 1,142 after a rough round in the standing position.
However, Hammond had much more luck in the 50-meter prone competition where he finished No. 17 with a 593, just one point behind fellow WVU alum Eric Uptagrafft of Team USA.
All Olympic shooting events—both men's and women's—allow just eight shooters into the ten-shot final round. Those who are tied for the remaining places in the finals enter a shoot-off to determine who will be going on.
Unfortunately for Hammond and Uptagrafft, the score required for this particular shoot-off was a 595.
Campriani was one of the nine shooters to record a 595 and be entered in the five-shot 50-meter shoot-off. He went on to shoot the second-highest score and the shoot-off, qualifying for the finals.
Unfortunately, the 50-meter prone would prove to be the gold-medalist's worst event, as he shot the second-lowest finals score to finish eighth.
Just a few days prior, Campriani was able to win his first Olympic medal, a silver in the 10-meter air rifle.
Campriani tied an Olympic record shooting a 599—one point off of a perfect score—in the qualifying round.
He sat atop the leaderboard in the qualifying round just ahead of Romanian shooter Alin George Moldoveanu. The two each shot a 599, but Campriani had the edge with 56 "inner-10s" to Moldoveanu's 53.
However, Moldoveanu had an excellent performance in the finals, recording a 103.1 to capture the gold medal and edge out Campriani's final round score of 102.5.
The Focsani, Romania native earned just the second gold medal for his home country to this point, with a final score of 702.1.
Meanwhile, the Florence, Italy native settled for silver with a final score of 701.5.
Also, Campriani wasn't the only Italian Mountaineer competing at the games.
[caption id="attachment_795" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Zublasing and Campriani pictured together. Photo Credit: iodonna.it"]
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Representing Italy on the women's side was current WVU senior and reigning NCAA smallbore champion Petra Zublasing.
Zublasing had a strong performance in both events during her first Olympic appearance.
In her first event, the Appiano, Italy native shot a 396 in the 10-meter air rifle event, finishing in 12th place just three points off first place and one point off qualifying for the finals.
In her next and final event, the 50-meter 3 positions, she shot a 581 again good for 12th place, leaving her just two points off the shoot-off for the finals.
However, it was her Italian teammate who stole the show at the Royal Artillery Barracks in London, as he was the only shooter—male or female—to medal in multiple events.
Additionally, Campriani was the only male shooter to qualify for the finals in all three events.
Campriani's feelings on the gold were posted on the WVU Rifle Twitter feed:
"I had everything to lose," Campriani said. "I worked really hard before the competition, and there were a lot of expectations on me. The last 20 shots kneeling were really difficult....and I was shaking. I won today because of my kneeling position, which is strange because I hate kneeling. I made it, and I'm glad because it's not just these last 10 days, it's four years. Medals are medals. I'm feeling very strong emotions. I've reached my aim, and I am delighted."
He capped off the 2012 Games by setting the Olympic record in the 50-meter 3 positions, shooting a 1,180—eight points ahead of American Matt Emmons.
Campriani then cruised to a gold-medal finish setting an Olympic finals record with a final score of 1,278.5—six points ahead of the South Korean silver medalist Jonghyun Kim.
A few days later, Hammond gave his outlook on Campriani's gold, also via the WVU Rifle Twitter feed:
"Nicco's Gold medal is an unbelievable achievement," Hammond said. "Becoming an Olympic champion was one of his dreams. He has worked so hard, and I think he has exceeded all of his expectations for these Games. The London Olympics have been an amazing experience. WVU has certainly been well represented in the rifle events. We have added more history to a great program, and I am so proud!"
With the dominating performance in London, WVU's Campriani effectively made his case as the best shooter in the world.
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