World number one Ralf Schumann of Germany won the Olympic gold medal in the men's 25-metres rapid-fire pistol event for the third time today when he triumphed at the Markopuolo Olympic Shooting Centre.
Schumann, 42, the outstanding shot of his generation in this discipline, had won Olympic gold at both the Barcelona and Atlanta Games, but finished fifth in Sydney. He also took a silver medal at the 1988 Seoul Games.
The German is also the Olympic record holder after scoring 698 points in 1996, a mark he was unable to break today when he began the final on level scores with his two main Russian rivals.
The top three were all on 592, but Schumann kept his nerve in the final and he emerged victorious after a close, if brief, contest, finishing with a winning total of 694.9 points.
That was enough to put him ahead of Russian Sergei Poliakov, the 2003 European champion, but appearing in his first Olympic final. He took the silver medal with 692.7.
Defending Olympic champion Sergei Alifirenko, 45, finished third to take bronze with 692.3.
Filed by Barry J Whyte
