Niccolo Campriani Takes Silver in First of Three Air Rifle Events

Reigning air rifle world champion Niccolo Campriani took the silver in the 10-metre competition yesterday at the Royal Artillery Barracks, while Romanian Alin George Moldoveanu, who was ranked low going into the Olympics, took the gold with a 0.6 point lead.

After winning first place in the 50-metre three positions and the 10-metre in the 2012 World Cup and the 10-metre in the World Championships in 2010, Campriani was predicted to be a top contender in this year's air rifle events. His championship win made him the first individual to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in any sport and the first Italian in 40 years to take the 10-metre men's air rifle title.

With a lead heading into the finals, Campriani was poised to take the gold in an event where one tenth of a point can often mean the difference between success and defeat. After a disappointing 9.7 first shot to began the round, he fired off a series of 10s—10.2, 10.7, 10.2, 10.4, 10.8, and 10.8—but his penultimate shot, a 9.4, cost him his 0.8 lead over Moldoveanu. His final 10.4 clinched him the silver.

Campriani will compete in the remaining two rifle events, the 50-metre prone and the 50-metre three position, on Friday the 3rd of August and Monday the 6th of August respectively.

At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Campriani also qualified for all three events, but did not medal. Campriani's silver is the eighth medal so far this year for Italy, which is in fourth place for most medals overall, behind the U.S., China, and Japan.

On Saturday, Carabinieri officer Luca Tesconi also took a silver medal in the 10-metre air pistol, after starting the final round ranked sixth.