From New Jersey to Alaska, and Beyond:
Matthew (Matt) Emmons was born in New Jersey, USA, in 1981, and began shooting competitively in high school. He then proceeded to a fairly far-flung college destination: University of Alaska (Fairbanks). It was then that he really started winning at competitive shooting, taking the NCAA Rifle Championship four times running (2000-2004) in addition to earlier wins.He had caught the attention of USA Shooting when he won both the prone and 3x40 events in a 1997 international match. From there, he continued to improve and win. At age 17, he became part of the National Rifle Team.
Home off the Range:
When he's not burning powder at the rifle range, Matt has been known to go cross-country skiing, camping, hiking, and fishing. He's even considered giving the biathlon a serious try, which would combine his passions for skiing and shooting.He enjoys baseball, having once pitched a perfect game in high school, and has said that shooting has taught him some valuable lessons that would easily carry over to pitching. He even plays electric guitar from time to time, but his impressive record indicates that his main focus remains on rifle shooting.
Olympic Experience:
Matt's Olympic experience in 2004 brought him both victory and defeat, with some love tossed into the mix. He received Gold for Prone Rifle, but didn't earn a medal in 10m Air Rifle. What really hurt was when he lost a commanding lead in 3-Position Rifle by firing at the wrong target. This rare mistake cost him the round, placing him eighth for that event.It was then that Matt met fellow Olympic shooter Katerina (Katy) Kurkova of the Czech Republic. Like Matt, she's a winner - she holds a 2002 World Championship, and has won Olympic Gold (2008) and Bronze (2004). They were married in the Czech Republic in June, 2007.
2004-2008:
Matt took some time off for education and then returned to competitive shooting, earning a 2006 World Championship. He went on in 2007 to earn no less than seven World Cup titles, along with the title of USA Shooting Male Athlete of the Year. In 2008 he brought home a Bronze medal from the Milan World Cup prone event, and earned silver for air rifle shooting at the Beijing World Cup Olympic test event.He is certainly not one to rest on his laurels, and it's likely that he will do much more before his competitive shooting career is over.
Beijing 2008:
Matt won Silver in Men's 50m Rifle Prone. Matt won Gold in this event in 2004, but in 2008 he didn't quite have the momentum needed to grab the top spot.Matt competed for another medal (in Men's 3-Position Rifle) at the 2008 Games.
That Last Shot is a Doozie:
Well, it happened again. Matt was leading the pack, with one shot to go. Just as in 2004 when he shot the wrong target with his final shot, he made a mistake that blew it for the USA.In 2008, he didn't even need his last shot to be all that good in order to win. A sloppy 6.7 would have won him the Gold. And up until then, his worst shot had been a 9.7.
Then, as Matt was settling his sights on the target, he fired his rifle prematurely, scoring a paltry 4.4 points and putting him in 4th place.
I'm starting to wonder about this kid.
