The following is from West Virginia Illustrated:
Silver is good, but gold is better.
A week after securing a second place finish
in the men's 10 meter air rifle finals, former WVU shooter Nicco
Campriani blew away the competition in the 50 meter 3 position finals at
the London Olympics to take home the gold medal.
Campriani, shooting for Italy, set a new
Olympics record with his showing on Monday as he scored 1278.5, besting
the second place finisher, the Republic of Korea's Kim Jonghyun, by six
full points. Matthew Emmons of the United States won the bronze.
"I had everything to lose," said Campriani.
"I worked really hard before the competition, and there were a lot of
expectations on me, which made things even harder. The last 20 shots
kneeling were really difficult. There were a lot of heart beats, and I
was shaking."
West Virginia rifle coach Jon Hammond also
shot in the qualification round of the event, but finished in 41st place
and did not advance to the finals.
The 3 position win came after Campriani was
left off the medal stand in the 50 meter prone, when he came in eighth
place among the finalists. He responded brilliantly by setting an
Olympics record in both the qualification and final rounds of the 3
position, both of which count toward the overall score.
Campriani says he could not have accomplished
what he has in London without the well wishes that family, friends and
fans provided him over the past few weeks.
"Although shooting is an individual sport,
you still need support, and I have had tons of messages over the last
few days," he said. "My cell phone is off at the moment, but I will
reply to them all."
Campriani, a native of Florence, completed
his collegiate career with the Mountaineers in the 2010-11 season,
winning the Red Brown Cup for WVU's most outstanding all-around
student-athlete as a senior. In his two seasons with the program, he
helped West Virginia to a 22-2 overall second, a second place finish at
the national championships and won his own individual title in the air
rifle competition.
"I need a break now from shooting," Campriani admitted after the event. "I will be back in 2013, but I need a long break."
Current WVU senior shooter Petra Zublasing of Appiano, Italy placed 12th in both of her events in London.
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