Day 5 Report: One More the Beyerle Way

FORT BENNING, GA. (May 28, 2010)

Jamie Beyerle is no stranger to the top of the winner’s podium and the commitment it takes to be a world-class shooter. After battling a cold and ear infection for the past two weeks, Beyerle fought fatigue and balance problems to conquer Women's 50m Rifle 3P. She and 10m Air Rifle gold medalist Yi Siling- who was in the hospital emergency room for gallstone symptoms the night before her victory - are prime examples of the power of the mind and importance of mental toughness. Maladies aside, Beyerle shot a match total of 687.7 points -- 96.7 of those points coming in the final. She walked into the final with a comfortable six-point lead, which was nearly eliminated by top-ranked Chinese shooter, Wu Liuxi. The competition heated up in the final as Beyerle shot a 7.9 for her 8th shot and Wu shot a 10.3, narrowing the gap between the two athletes to 0.9 points. Beyerle, however, closed the door on Wu as she punched an outstanding 10.8 on her last shot and won by 1.7 points.

"It’s great that at the end I made it. Fort Benning is my home range - I am training here and I know this place very well," said Beyerle. Her top priority now is to get healthy as she has a busy schedule coming up. “I am going to Serbia, for the next World Cup, and then to the World Championship [in August].” Prior to that, however, Beyerle will compete in mid-June at the Rifle/Pistol Nationals at Fort Benning.

Fellow US teammate, Amy Sowash, finished 6th with a match score of 581 points and 98.9 points in the final. Sandy Fong, resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center, finished 16th with a total of 579 points. With the US medal count at three, the US is looking to hot-handed Daryl Szarenski, who captured three medals in this season’s Sydney and Beijing World Cups. Stay tuned for Men’s Free Pistol results tomorrow. Coming up on Sunday is Men’s 50m Prone Finals, where US shooters Michael McPhail, Matt Emmons, Eric Uptagrafft, Scott Franz, and Cody Rutter will compete for top honors.

For all scores, additional photos, video interviews, match feeds, and immediate results, please visit the ISSF Website.

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ELEY is a Proud Sponsor of the USA Shooting Rifle and Pistol Teams: ELEY Limited, manufacturer of the world’s most consistently accurate rimfire ammunition, has been the Official Sponsor and Official Supplier of .22 rimfire ammunition of the USA Shooting rifle and pistol teams since 2000. For more information on ELEY and their products, please visit www.eley.co.uk.

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