CELEBRATION, Fla. — Thunderstorms and the threat of tornadoes forced the cancellation of the Shotgun competition and ended the Rifle event after its qualifying round Saturday morning at ESPN's Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge at the Tenoroc Shooting Sports and Training Range in Lakeland.
By ending the Rifle event after the qualifying round, Doug Koenig of Alburtis, Pa., was awarded first place based on his qualifying time of 23.67 seconds in the 14-target event. His time 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.
Games officials announced the decision at 11:30 a.m., breaking the news to disappointed competitors and sport organizers gathered at a local hotel outside Lakeland.
"We're very disappointed, obviously, because this is a spectacular opportunity to share the shooting sports with the rest of the country," said Steve Wagner of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the event's organizer for the Games. "We have shooting sports in the Olympics, but the Great Outdoor Games gives these sports far more exposure, not only for the 40 million Americans who actively shoot firearms, but for all the other viewers who tune in to ESPN."
Koenig shared the disappointment, adding that the atmosphere surrounding a qualifying round doesn't match the actual competition. "Everyone was prepared to shoot, but there's not much you can do with these storms," he said.
The Shotgun competition originally was postponed Friday night and officially canceled Saturday morning, without a shot being fired. Brett Dorak of Sobieski, Wis., the 2003 silver medalist and a runner-up in 2004, agreed it was imperative to keep everyone safe from the threatening storms.
"It's very disappointing because everyone puts so much time and effort into preparing for this, but we'll look forward to next year," Dorak said. "We wanted to get out there and compete, but never got to fire a shot. It's probably much more difficult for the rifle shooters because they actually got started and had to stop."
Two competitors, Robbie Purser and Tony Holmes, were disqualified for not completing one phase of shooting before moving onto the next.
Up to six inches of standing water covered much of the range when officials postponed Friday's shooting events. Saturday began with a tornado sighting near Lakeland, with more storms expected to follow.
1. Doug Koenig, Alburtis, Pa. (0:23.67)
2. Mike Cumming, Altoona, Pa. (0:27.38)
3. Jerry Miculek, Princeton, La. (0:30.67)
4. Carl Bernosky, Ashland, Pa. (0:36.50)
5. Vince Cumming, Altoona, Pa. (0:37.70)
6. John Bagakis, Livermore, Calif. (0:41.47)
7. Jorge Rodriguez, Las Vegas, Nev. (0:44.18)
8. Keith Brown, Greensboro, N.C. (0:48.42)
9. Richard Aitken, Peyton, Colo.(0:51.13)
10. Randy Hollowbush, Topton, Pa. (0:58.30)
11. Bruce Piatt, Montvale, N.J. (0:58.86)
12. Doug Fuller, Claremore, Okla. (0:59.10)
13. Randy Hendrix, Clemmons, N.C. (1:12.26)
14. Tim Vaitekunas, Edwardsville, Ill. (1:14.80)
15. Robbie Purser, Macon, Ga. (DQ)
15. Tony Holmes, Otterbein, Ind. (DQ)
The Games will be aired on ESPN and ABC Sports July 13-17, 2005. Click here for the broadcast schedule.
