Dodgy gun leaves Jen off target
Jen McIntosh will to wait another four days for her medal shot after the Scot failed to reach the women’s 10metre air rifle final.
The 25-year- old finished 15th out of 51 in the qualification round with only the top eight going through to the showdown.
McIntosh, who will be back in action in her favoured 50m rifle three positions event on Thursday, was just 1.2 points off the final.
And her performance was all the more impressive given McIntosh suffered a rifle malfunction midway through the match.
A dodgy screw was making her gun as useful as a water pistol with her dad Donald making a dash from the venue to get it fixed.
He returned just in time to see her rattle off 19 pellets in 15 minutes to finish on a score of 414.7.
McIntosh said: “That was a pretty tense 10 minutes but you’ve just got to manage these situations. There’s not much you can do about it.
“Something in the sights was fouling the loading mechanism. You just have to trust people to sort it out for you and I just tried to stay calm and not panic and figure out how to get back into it, which I did.
“I just went back in, did holding exercises, some dry firing. I got some extra sighters so I was able to take some extra practice shots before I came back in – just to check the gun was still pointing in the same place. That helped to settle the mind.
“I don’t think you can prepare for situations like that. I’ve had rif le malfunctions in the past. Earlier this year my rifle got knocked off the table and broke in half. That was fun.
“So having been through that before, you can’t control it. Accidents happen. You’ve just got to deal with it. I finished strongly and I’m happy with that.
“It was a good performance, even if you don’t factor in the malfunction. If you do, I’m super-proud of it.”
Virginia Thrasher won the first gold of the Games after an Olympic record score of 208.0 in the final.
The 19-year-old American, ranked No.23 in the world, edged out China’s Li Du by a single point with Du’s compatriot, defending champion Yi Siling, taking the bronze.