LONDON - All eyes will be on Staff Sgt. Michael McPhail as he shoots for a gold medal at the London Olympics on Friday, Aug. 3.
McPhail, a 30-year-old Darlington native, will compete in the Men's 50m Rifle Prone event, beginning with qualifying at 3 a.m. CT. If he qualifies, McPhail will advance to the finals at 6 a.m. CT. According to the NBC website, a taping of the finals will be aired on the NBC Sports Network (Charter channel 31, DISH Network channel 159) at 8 a.m. Friday.
The rifle prone event requires contestants to shoot 60 composition shots and the top eight will make a 10-shot final. Even though he must first qualify, McPhail has high hopes for a medal.
He is ranked third in the world in the rifle prone, boasting a best score is 704.6, which is just 0.3 points away from the world record. He is looking forward to his first Olympic Games.
"If I go out and do my job, the color (of the medal) and the score will take care of itself," McPhail said. "I would really like to get the world record."
McPhail has been on the verge of breaking out in the rifle prone for several years. He was just 0.4 points away from qualifying for the 2008 Olympics. He won the gold at last year's Pan American Games and took gold at the 2010 World Cup in Belgrade. In this year's Olympic trials in Fort Benning, Ga., McPhail won with 2,002.8 match points. His score was 3.8 points ahead of two-time Olympic medalist Matt Emmons who, along with Eric Uptagrafft, are also contenders to win gold in London.
McPhail, a 30-year-old Darlington native, will compete in the Men's 50m Rifle Prone event, beginning with qualifying at 3 a.m. CT. If he qualifies, McPhail will advance to the finals at 6 a.m. CT. According to the NBC website, a taping of the finals will be aired on the NBC Sports Network (Charter channel 31, DISH Network channel 159) at 8 a.m. Friday.
The rifle prone event requires contestants to shoot 60 composition shots and the top eight will make a 10-shot final. Even though he must first qualify, McPhail has high hopes for a medal.
He is ranked third in the world in the rifle prone, boasting a best score is 704.6, which is just 0.3 points away from the world record. He is looking forward to his first Olympic Games.
"If I go out and do my job, the color (of the medal) and the score will take care of itself," McPhail said. "I would really like to get the world record."
McPhail has been on the verge of breaking out in the rifle prone for several years. He was just 0.4 points away from qualifying for the 2008 Olympics. He won the gold at last year's Pan American Games and took gold at the 2010 World Cup in Belgrade. In this year's Olympic trials in Fort Benning, Ga., McPhail won with 2,002.8 match points. His score was 3.8 points ahead of two-time Olympic medalist Matt Emmons who, along with Eric Uptagrafft, are also contenders to win gold in London.