TNT Sports
'Range woe a mystery'
By
Published 11/02/2006 at 21:08 GMT
Raphael Poiree was left puzzled by the shooting range nightmare which saw his hopes of a first-ever Olympic gold slip away on Saturday. The Frenchman missed three times in total - twice on his first prone shoot - to finish down in 20th, almost three minut
Eurosport
Image credit: TNT Sports
"With two penalties it was already over," Poiree told Eurosport. "We'll all have to get together and talk about what happened because it is a mystery."
With a silver and bronze from Salt Lake City, current World Cup leader Poiree was widely-tipped to claim his first Olympic gold in the Games' opening biathlon event.
But despite the setback, Poiree said he remained optimistic.
"It's not really a disappointment, I gave everything I had, I did everything I could. There are still four races, I think it will get better and better on the skis. So, we'll see."
Poiree's team-mate and fellow early starter Vincent Defrasne also suffered on the range, which ironically served to benefit a third team-mate, Julien Robert - starting 35th - who was the only man to shoot clear and surprisingly sneaked into sixth place.
"I saw right at the beginning that Vincent and Raphael had problems on the range so I asked the shooting coach, Jean-Paul Jacquinot, what had happened," Robert told Eurosport.
"We talked for a while on the talkie-walkie and he gave me some advice, adjustments to make... But it also depends on the morning zeroing we have, with the wind and everything.
"So I adjusted and it worked. Sometimes, it is just a question of a millimetre. I think that Raphael and Vincent's bullets must not have been far away, but it is that millimetre that makes the difference."
Torino 2006 schedule
Advertisement
Advertisement