Matthew Emmons of the US reacts after placing third in the men's 50m rifle shooting from 3 positions event at the London 2012 Olympic Games.(Agencies)

Matt Emmons earned a coveted spot on the podium and shook off his own curse — sort of.

Emmons, 31, won a gold medal at the Athens Games in 2004 in the 50-meter rifle prone and a silver medal in Beijing in 2008. But at both Games, Emmons misfired on his final shot in the 50-meter rifle three position, missing out on a spot at the podium both times, finishing eighth in 2004 and fourth in 2008.

Heading into the 50-meter rifle three position final here Monday afternoon, Emmons was in second place with a score of 1,172, trailing Niccolo Campriani of Italy, who scored 1,180. Many wondered whether Emmons would earn the podium or choke on that final shot.

Emmons’s first nine shots were amazingly consistent, putting him back and forth with Jonghyun Kim of South Korea for a silver medal. Campriani was far ahead.

Emmons made his 10th shot, and the crowd held its breath waiting for the result.

Then, the score popped up. On the fateful last shot, Emmons foundered, shooting 7.6. He and the crowd at the Royal Artillery Barracks waited to see whether he would make the podium. He earned a bronze medal, finishing with a score of 1,271.3. Campriani set an Olympic record and snagged the gold medal with a score of 1,278.5; Kim took the silver with 1,272.5.

“Just to be on the podium at the Olympics is a very special feeling,” Emmons said. “And I’m very, very happy for that. I’m very happy to be up there with bronze.

“Of course, silver is great, gold is great, but given what I had to work with today, it was a really tough match. Probably the toughest match I’ve ever had to shoot.”

Heading into the final shot, “I was much more nervous than I wanted to be,” he said.

The last four years have been “really tough,” Emmons said.

In 2009, Emmons and his wife, Katerina, also a shooter, were happy to give birth to a daughter.

美国射击名将马修-埃蒙斯在伦敦奥运会男子50米步枪三姿赛中摘得铜牌，摆脱了最后一枪失手丢牌的魔咒—当然只是在部分程度上这样。

31岁的埃蒙斯曾在2004年雅典奥运会上获得50米步枪卧射金牌，在08年北京奥运会也摘得一枚银牌。但在这两届奥运会上，埃蒙斯都在50米步枪三姿赛的最后一枪失手，将金牌拱手让与他人。他在这两届奥运会上分别名列第八和第四。

在周一下午举行的50米步枪三姿赛预赛中，埃蒙斯以1172环的成绩位列次席，仅次于意大利选手尼可拉-卡普里亚尼，他的成绩为1180环。很多人都在想埃蒙斯会稳拿奖牌还是再次兵败最后一枪。

决赛中，埃蒙斯的前9枪发挥非常稳定，与韩国选手金玄宗不相上下，有希望夺得银牌。卡普里亚尼的成绩则遥遥领先。

埃蒙斯打出最后一枪后，人们屏气凝神，等待结果。

结果出来了。在至关重要的最后一枪，埃蒙 斯又失手了，只打出了7.6环。他和在皇家炮团军营观看比赛的观众们都在等待结果，看能否摘得一枚奖牌。最终他以1271.3环的成绩摘得银牌。卡普里亚 尼打破奥运会纪录，以1278.5环的成绩夺得金牌。金玄宗以1272.5环的成绩摘得银牌。

埃蒙斯说：“登上奥运领奖台的感觉很特别。我非常开心，能得铜牌我很开心。”

“能得银牌或者金牌当然最好，但就今天的比赛来看，真是一场硬仗。也许是我参加过的最艰难的比赛了。”

他说，打到最后一枪时，“我自己也不想这么紧张。”

埃蒙斯说，过去的四年对他而言“太艰难了”。

在2009年，埃蒙斯与他的妻子卡特琳娜生下了女儿。卡特琳娜也是一名射击选手。

back and forth: 反复地，来回地

founder: 失败