Storms disrupt Shooting events
Doug Koenig of Alburtis, Pa., shot the fastest qualifying round Friday afternoon in the Rifle competition at ESPN's Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge before thunderstorms caused officials to delay and then suspend competition at the Tenoroc Shooting Sports and Training Range in Lakeland.
The Shotgun competition, originally scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. Friday, also was postponed. The Games has revised its scheduling due to the weather delay.
Two of the 16 shooters in the event, Randy Hendrix of Clemmons, N.C., and Jorge Rodriguez of Las Vegas, were unable to shoot qualifying times before the thunderstorms struck. They will complete the qualifying event beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday. Immediately following, the Rifle seeding and finals will take place.
Archery finals originally scheduled for noon to 2 p.m. at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex will begin one hour later, at 1 p.m. Finally, Shotgun finals at Tenoroc will begin at 8:30 p.m. instead of 9:30 p.m.
"While we've changed our schedule, this is an excellent opportunity for fans to see our top competitors face off all in one day," said Michael Mulone, Games director. "It's going to be an exciting day of competition with gold medals and top dollar prizes up for grabs."
Up to six inches of standing water covered much of the range when officials canceled Friday's shooting events. When competition resumes, event organizers will likely try to film both events through their entirety. The Games will be broadcast on ESPN and ABC July 13-17.
Koenig's time of 23.67 seconds in the 14-target event was 3.71 seconds faster than the next best time, 27.38, shot by Mike Cumming of Altoona, Pa., the defending gold medalist. Defending silver medalist Jerry Miculek of Princeton, La. – who won gold in 2001 and 2002 – shot the day's third best time, 30.67 seconds.
One voice in Endurance
Through the loud cheers and screams of the crowd, Women's Endurance athlete Karmyn Wynyard heard one voice coming through. "Breathe! Breathe!" her husband, Jason Wynyard, shouted, as Karmyn ripped at a large log with her single buck saw.
With the encouragement of her husband, Karmyn Wynyard closely beat out Penny Halvorson of Alma Center, Wis., on Friday afternoon in the Women's Endurance competition at ESPN's Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge. She will face three-time gold medalist Sheree Taylor, last year's champion, in the semifinal Saturday at 4 p.m.
After taking the bronze in 2003, Wynyard took last year off while she and Jason, who live in Massey, New Zealand, welcomed their first child. Karmyn said her husband eased her return to the sport following the pregnancy, the same way he helped her through the quarterfinal today.
"He does everything," Karmyn Wynyard said. "Without him, I wouldn't be here, that's for sure. Even … when I feel like my arms are dying, he says, 'Hey, I'm here. I'm helping you.'"
Jason Wynyard, a four-time gold medalist in Men's Endurance and the defending champion, advanced to the semifinals Friday evening, as did his brother-in-law, Dion Lane, who finished second in 2004. Men's Endurance finals are scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday.
Patriotic Duty Army marksmen Sgt. Ryan Hadden and Sgt. 1st Class Shawn Dulohery are newcomers to the Shotgun competition at the Games. Though finding a location to train often can be difficult, a fellow Shotgun competitor let the duo practice with him in his home turf.
Robbie Purser, 44, set up the game in his backyard of his Macon, Ga., home and said he considers it his patriotic duty. "I caught some grief from the other competitors. They asked, 'Why are you training the Army guys?' and I said, 'Hey, we're at war right now and I consider myself a patriotic person. If somebody asks me for help, I'm going to help them. So what if they're my competitors? I'm just going to have to work that much harder to try to beat them.'"
Double the Challenge
Rifle and shotgun are polar opposites in the target sports world, but three competitors are showing off their skills in both events at this year's Games. Doug Koenig of Alburtis, Pa., Robbie Purser of Macon, Ga., and Richard Aitken of Peyton, Colo., are seasoned in both events, but admit that one sport often comes more naturally than the other.
"Rifle is much harder, especially for a shotgun shooter," said Purser, 2002's Shotgun gold medalist. "Rifle shooting is a lot about trigger control and barely moving your finger on the trigger, trying not to disturb the sight. Shooting a shotgun, you slap the trigger. It's a lot to overcome as a shotgun shooter."
Koenig, a four-time rifle medalist at the Games, disagrees. "Rifle comes more natural to me," he said. "In shotgun, it's fast gun speed and hammering the trigger. It's as opposite a game as you can have."
ATV restart gives Joe Byrd second chance
This time, the late Byrd got the worm. Or at least the top spot on the podium.
Joe Byrd, taking advantage of a restart, beat 11 other ATV riders to the first corner of the Kawasaki Trail en route to winning the Great Outdoor Games' second Four Wheel Frenzy eight-lap qualifying race Friday night at Disney's Wide World of Sports ® complex. This is the first time ATVs are participating in the Games.
Byrd was third off the line on the original start, but when four quads at the back of the pack tangled and stalled in Turn 1, officials ordered a restart. Byrd, from Union City, Tenn., jumped to the front and pulled away to advance to tonight's main event. "I was upset," the Honda TRX450 rider said of the restart. "I was afraid my start would not be as good. Turns out I was wrong."
Jason Luburgh of Zanesville, Ohio won the first eight-lap qualifying race, getting the holeshot, which is the first rider to the first turn.
Minutes before the first race, a hard rain drenched the track. It put the track's wooden pond jump structure under water. Race officials, worried that the bikes would lose traction on the stretch leading to the jump, had riders in both races avoid the pond.
"The rain worked out perfectly," Luburgh said. "I think everyone else was a little leery. Goggles were fogging up."
The top six from each heat qualified for the main event, scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Twelve other riders raced in a Last Chance Qualifier earlier Friday with the top four advancing to the main event. They are:
Jason Luburgh, Zanesville, Ohio
Jeremiah Jones, Bowling Green, Ky.
Kory Ellis, Redding, Calif.
Travis Spader, Point Pleasant, N.J.
Jason Dunkelberger, Trevorton, Pa.
Joe Byrd, Union City, Tenn.
Doug Gust, Salem, Wis.
Dustin Wimmer, Center Valley, Pa.
John Natalie, Houtzdale, Pa.
Pat Brown, Flemington, N.J.
Tavis Cain, McKinleyville, Calif.
Bill Balance, Smith Grove, Ky.
Jeremy Schell, Murrieta, Calif.
Dustin Nelson, El Cajon, Calif.
Giovanni Colon
Rocco Arno
The Games will be aired on ESPN and ABC Sports July 13-17, 2005. Click here for the broadcast schedule.
