CHANGWON, South Korea (September 4, 2018)
The Men’s Prone Team of three-time Olympic medalist Matt Emmons, two-time Olympian Michael McPhail (pictured) and 2016 Olympian Lucas Kozeniesky won a team silver medal today in the 50m Men’s Prone Rifle event on the third day of competition at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Championship in Changwon, South Korea.
The three men competed in the Elimination relays today and all three will advance to tomorrow’s Qualification round. The team medal is based on the combined score of the three athletes from a country in this event during the Elimination round.
“Michael had a brilliant match, knowing they could be in contention and facing some of the most variable, fastest and continually changing conditions,” said National Rifle Coach Bob Foth. Facing choppy winds throughout the match, Emmons (Browns Mills, New Jersey) and Kozeniesky (Fairfax, Virginia) anxiously watched McPhail’s performance on the following relay to the end where he would post the highest score of his relay (624.5), giving the U.S. enough points to secure the silver medal.
Germany won the gold medal by 1.5 points for a score of 1869.5. China won the bronze medal with a score of 1866.8. The medals for this event will be presented tomorrow, along with the winner of the Men’s Prone Rifle individual event.
Emmons and McPhail (Darlington, Wisconsin/U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit) were also on the 50m Men’s Prone Rifle Team that also won gold at the World Championship in 2010 and 2006. Emmons won gold in 2002 and bronze in 2010 in the individual 50m Men’s Prone Rifle event at the World Championship.
Today’s team silver medal brings the United States’ medal count to three with the Men’s Trap Team silver medal
