RIO DE JANEIRO (Aug. 8, 2016) -- Spc. Daniel Lowe of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit finished 34th in the men's 10-meter air rifle event Monday at the Rio Olympic Games.
"It was a lot of pressure, but I believe I did some of the best shooting of my life," said Lowe, 23, a native of Olympia, Washington, stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia. "I worked hard and I learned a lot from this, my first Olympic match: if I am not working every single shot, it's not going to happen."
Lowe was eager to put his Olympic debut behind him and begin focusing on his next event: the men's 50-meter three-position rifle competition on Sunday at the Olympic Shooting Center in Deodoro.
"I believe the next competition will go better," Lowe said. "Half of the pressure is gone now. I will take the lessons learned from today's event and come back more motivated, more dedicated, stronger as a better shooter. It will be another opportunity for greatness."
Lowe totaled 620 points in qualification. The cutoff to advance to the eight-man finals was 625.5. Niccolo Campriani of Italy led the field with an Olympic record qualification score of 630.2 points.
Campriani went on to win the gold medal with an Olympic finals record total of 206.1. Serhiy Kulish of Ukraine took the silver medal with a score of 204.6 in the final. Russia's Vladimir Maslennikov claimed the bronze.
Lowe, who was assigned to the competitive marksmanship unit two years ago, said his Army training has been invaluable at handling the pressure of Olympic competition.
"Everything I have learned in the Army is helping me during my first Olympics," Lowe said. "The training, the values and the dedication that I learned in the Army not only makes me a better shooter, but a better person."
Related Links:
Family and MWR: Army Olympians
U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program
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More photos: Spc. Daniel Lowe shoots 10-meter air rifle at Rio Olympic Games
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