Tokyo’s success in Air Rifle is now a distant memory, as the USA Shooting Team struggled to qualify for the finals of any of the air gun disciplines except for Maddalena Sagen, who on Sunday morning qualified for the 10M Air Rifle finals, which will take place this morning (Monday).
Sagen, a 30-year-old, was hovering close enough to the cut line of eight shooters that she was unwilling to give in to her hopes of asking for the finals until the end of qualifying in a seventh spot out of eight qualifiers.
“I had mixed emotions because I did the work, and there was nothing else I could have done, so I was just watching and was happy because I did the work, and I shot well and performed really well,” Sagen said of her attitude as she was waiting for the outcome. But then, at the same time, I was really anxious to see if I got a ticket to the dance and made the final.”
Both American women struggled early in the qualifying, with Sagen and Mary Tucker, the Silver medalist in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team, far below the top eight after two series.
For Sagen, she just stepped on the accelerator and leapfrogged the competition in the last four series, averaging 104.5 points in the first two series and 105.6 in the final four.
In a competition in which the leader, Korea’s Hyojin Ban, is only 3.2 points ahead of the eight qualifier Oceanne Muller from France, the 4.4-point difference for Sagen from the first two series to the final four was huge.
“I think it was that second series in there. I was just slow on a little or too quick on a little, just that timing was just a touch off,” Sagen said. “I ended up telling myself, Hey, next shot, focus on the next shot, not that last shot, and that’s kind of what got me back into that calm, cool, and collected mindset of next shot, next shot, and make the next shot count.”
Tucker, the sixth-place finisher in 10m Air Rifle in Tokyo, had equipment issues in the first two series and never recovered, finishing 32nd.
Although Tucker and her coach were requested to discuss the issue, neither Tucker nor her coach was made available to the media to discuss the equipment malfunction.
“It a heartbreaking scenario, and we prepare for it with backup equipment, backup guns, but you get to the worst scenario is when you're on the line inside, and you realize my stuff not working, something's wrong, and you have to adapt quickly, and it's very hard and then to keep that championship mindset,” Sagen said of Tucker's mishap. “You just got to keep that sportsmanship mindset; one match doesn't define who you are. So, one match isn't going to define who Mary is. She's an amazing shooter, and she just had that malfunction today that happened to all of us just for her at the wrong time.”
Having finished fifth in the 50m 3-position smallbore in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Californian is competing in two events in Paris: the Women’s 10m Air rifle and the smallbore rifle. Sagen is looking for another medal.
“I’m just gonna take today and prepare like I always do, which is get rest, get sleep, nutrition, eat, hydrate, and be in the right mindset, my right frame of mind,” Sagen said of her preparation for the finals. “Go out, stretch my legs, get a walk, and put it in perspective. Like I can't get too caught up in it. It's got to be perfect because if that happens, I'll just get stressed out and anxious. Gotta go out there and do the work and enjoy being in the moment.”
For a program that has had success in Air Rifle in the last two Olympics (Virginia Thrasher won gold in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro and two medals in Tokyo), the possibility of being shut out in Air Rifle would be disappointing, at best, and at worst, unacceptable.
Veteran rifle coach Peter Durban of USA Shooting took a more pragmatic approach to his team after seeing the USA men’s contingent of Ivan Roe and Rylan Kissell finish 34th and 35th, respectively, out of 49 competitors in the men’s 10m Air Rifle competition.
“We were very well prepared for this,” Durban said. “It's a little different than a normal Olympics in they’re so isolated, satellite village, but we're ready for this, we prepared well. So far, we just started two events really, got one in the final for tomorrow. So, it's excellent. It's the toughest competition in the world. So, we're doing well, people are in good spirits. Some obviously want to do better, but you know they did what they did. It's what their body allowed them to do in the day. So far, it's going well, and now we're moving on to smallbore after a final tomorrow, and I feel good about are people in that end as well.”
Tucker, a silver medalist in Tokyo, also finished sixth in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle event.
Now just 23, Tucker, a silver medalist at the 2023 Pan Am Games in Air Rifle, had an equipment malfunction on Sunday that she wrestled with for two series until a fix was found.
It may have been a backup gun, or the original gun may have been tweaked, but neither Tucker after her qualifier nor her coach at USA Shooting were made available to the media afterward, even though both were requested.
Even Durban was unclear when asked about the incident.
“I don't know the other coaches watching her during that I was watching the other shooter, so I haven't heard the details of that one yet,” Durban said of the Tucker gun mishap. “Figure out what was what the issue was after this, but I don't know what the issues are right now.”
A solid Monday morning by Sagen, which means getting a spot on the podium, will put the Air Rifle squad’s success in a different light, but if the USA team doesn’t medal in Air Rifle for the first time since 2012 in London, it will not only put additional pressure on the Skeet and Trap shooters, but could be the beginning of a failed Olympics for the shooting sports in Paris.