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By sports writer Lin Deren
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Among tens of questions in the interview with Xinhua, only one stumped 35-year-old U.S. shooter Matthew Emmons.
"What is your biggest loss in your career?"
The veteran tried really hard to answer the question. Many scenes went through his mind, and finally he found out there was nothing worth mentioning.
"I don' t know about that one. It' s tough," he said.
"I try not to think about the losses too much. I learn what I can and I look forward."
Emmons is quite successful as a shooter, with three Olympic medals and a huge number of international shooting titles, but it' s his "losses" that made him well-known around the world.
In 2004 Athens Games, he was leading by more that three points before the final shot, but he fired the last bullet on another target and resulted zero, losing an Olympic gold which had seemed so close to him.
In 2008 Beijing Games, Emmons missed another Olympic title by shooting 4.4 in his last shot.
Many were shocked by the surprising results, and felt sad for him, but Emmons would rather think in another way.
"(the two final shots) They are probably the best things in my life," said Emmons.
"They made me a stronger athlete and a better person. I would love to have those medals but I wouldn' t trade those mistakes for anything, because they made me who I am today.
"I feel good about that. It' s sad but at the same time the things I had learned were more important to me."
Emmons developed thyroid cancer in September 2010 and had his thyroid removed. However, he managed to recover physically and mentally well enough to compete at London Olympics, where he finally won a bronze in 5om rifle three positions. The bronze was regarded by himself as the biggest victory in his career.
"Not a gold but that was my favorite," said Emmons, who experienced a fight against cancer, a unwilling move because of the close of the shooting range, and the Psychological burden from the two previous Olympics.
Emmons didn' t make into the final on his only event in Rio, worst performance in his four Olympics.
" I still don' t know what happened," said Emmons about his performance in Rio. He shot a perfect 400 points in prone, but he didn' t do that well in kneeling and standing positions.
"I felt great, looked great and I really thought I was taking really great shots. I look at the target, just a little bit outside, 9.8, 9.9, frustrating, I still don' t know what happened."
Emmons is preparing for the ISSF World Cup final in October. He will take a vacation after that, and decide on some time next year whether to start preparing for Tokyo 2020.
"I' ve always wanted to get to a point when I feel really good control and understanding of the game. I think now I finally get to a point where I understand the sport really well," he said.
Every shooter loves medals, but life is far more than that, so Emmons selects "meeting my wife in 2004" as the most memorable moment in his career. The couple was married in 2007 and at the moment they are expecting their fourth child.
Emmons has many plans after retirement. He wants to be a shooting coach, and he is also interested in biathlon. As an MBA, he is also a professional consultant in business.
"There are many things I can teach people and help people from the lessons I learned from sport," said Emmons.
Born in a family of hunters, Emmons never thought shooting was a sport before he picked up his training as a child. He started from a shooting club junior team member, and steadily grew to one of the best rifle shooters in the world.
He had won as many as 44 ISSF World Cup medals, along with three medals in World Championships and three at the Olympics. He is the current holder of 50m rifle three position finals world record. He had won so much, but he didn' t think he had lost anything.
"It' s OK if you win, but if you lose. Learn. Learn to become better because of it, and just keep moving forward," he said.
"It' s competition, not life or death. The sun is coming up tomorrow. Your friends will still like you. Your family will love you. It' s just a game you play."
Life isn' t easy for anyone, and Emmons decide to accept whatever it gave him, and try his best to figure out a way.
"I' ve always said for a long time if I have to retire today, I will retire and be perfectly happy. I 've had a wonderful career," he said.
