Campriani wins 50m 3 position

LONDON – Italian Niccolo Campriani thrashed the field to win the men’s 50m three position rifle shooting event at the London Games Monday as American Matthew Emmons endured another Olympic nightmare.

Campriani finished with a total of 1278.5 ahead of Kim Jong-hyun of South Korea in second on 1272.5 and Emmons third on 1271.3.

The Italian puffed out his cheeks after he completed his 10th and final shot of the final.

It was the Italian’s second medal of the Games after he won silver in the men’s 10m air rifle.

He took an eight-point lead after qualifying where competitors shoot 40 times in a kneeling, prone and standing position.

China bags sailing gold

Xu Lijia of China was so strong in the women’s Laser Radial that she won the gold medal Monday despite having to do a penalty turn on the first downwind leg.

Xu, who won the bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics, quickly rebounded from being penalized for rocking the boat and opened a comfortable lead sailing on the Nothe Course on Weymouth Bay.

The medals race came down to four sailors with a chance at gold. Xu, Marit Bouwmeester of the Netherlands, Annalise Murphy of Ireland and Evi Van Acker of Belgium came into the final race separated by only one point. That meant that whoever within that group finished first would win the gold.

Xu finished nine seconds ahead of Bouwmeester, who took the silver. Van Acker took third for the bronze. — Agencies