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UAE Wins First Gold Medal in History - In SHOOTING
Geez - I hope he is on opur sideAhmed al-Maktoum has become the first Olympic medallist from the United Arab Emirates, with gold in the shooting. He won the men's double trap with score of 189 points, equalling the current Olympic record. Maktoum is a member of Dubai's ruling family and was once the UAE's national squash champion. India's Rajyavardhan Rathore took the silver, that country's first medal of the Games, while China's Zheng Wang collected bronze. In the double trap, competitors fire with a double-barrelled shotgun at two clay targets released simultaneously at different heights and angles. The person who hits the most targets wins. The shooter must fire just one shot at each target. Maktoum's accuracy was stunning as he made it through to the final round with a world record breaking score of 144 points, six points clear of his nearest rival. Comfortably in the lead and with the title effectively won, his concentration seemed to fail in the last round and he missed several targets, costing him the Olympic record. "I knew I had the gold medal well before the final was finished because my coach had signalled to me from the stand," he said. "My job was done, so I didn't concentrate on the final few shots." UAE National Olympic Committee head Ibrahim Abdulmalik Ahli was delighted with the result. "We entered Olympic history through the main gate," he said. Isn't "Gentle" from the UAE? She has to be happy about this one. Posted by: BigEd 2004-08-17 |
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