RIO DE JANEIRO - Former Darlington resident Michael McPhail finished 19th in the 50-meter rifle prone during the qualification round at the Olympics on Friday and didn't advance to the eight-man final.
McPhail finished with a score of 622 out of a maximum possible 654.
According to International Shooting World, McPhail entered the Rio Games ranked eighth in the world.
Henri Junghaenel of Germany, who was eighth coming out of qualifying with a score of 624.8, went on to win the gold medal in the 20-shot final.
McPhail, a 2000 Darlington High School graduate and Army Staff Sgt. at Fort Benning, Georgia, with the U.S. Marksmanship Unit, was the top American going into the Olympics. He was ranked No. 1 in the world last year.
McPhail declined to be interviewed in the mixed media zone after the qualifying round.
Before leaving for the Olympics, he shared his goal with the Times.
"I think the goals and expectations I have for myself now are different than they were four years ago," McPhail said. "My expectations and goal is to win it and walk out of Rio an Olympic champion. I would be happy with a medal, but anything less than that is not what I'm going there for."
It marked McPhail's second Olympic appearance. McPhail competed in the rifle prone in the 2012 London Olympics and missed qualifying for the final by three-tenths of a point. He placed ninth after a shootout decided the eight finalists.
McPhail finished with a score of 622 out of a maximum possible 654.
According to International Shooting World, McPhail entered the Rio Games ranked eighth in the world.
Henri Junghaenel of Germany, who was eighth coming out of qualifying with a score of 624.8, went on to win the gold medal in the 20-shot final.
McPhail, a 2000 Darlington High School graduate and Army Staff Sgt. at Fort Benning, Georgia, with the U.S. Marksmanship Unit, was the top American going into the Olympics. He was ranked No. 1 in the world last year.
McPhail declined to be interviewed in the mixed media zone after the qualifying round.
Before leaving for the Olympics, he shared his goal with the Times.
"I think the goals and expectations I have for myself now are different than they were four years ago," McPhail said. "My expectations and goal is to win it and walk out of Rio an Olympic champion. I would be happy with a medal, but anything less than that is not what I'm going there for."
It marked McPhail's second Olympic appearance. McPhail competed in the rifle prone in the 2012 London Olympics and missed qualifying for the final by three-tenths of a point. He placed ninth after a shootout decided the eight finalists.
