University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics

FAIRBANKS, AK — Matt Emmons says he put the famous “crossfire” that cost him a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics behind him almost as soon as it happened.

Lauded then for his composure and sportsmanship, Emmons was further rewarded by gaining a wife in part because of the episode.

Now Emmons, competing along with fellow former Alaska Nanooks rifle shooter Jamie Beyerle, is again a favorite for Olympic hardware in Beijing.

Emmons, 27, made headlines four years ago in Athens when he had all but sown up his second gold medal of the games — something that had never been done — before accidentally shooting at the wrong target in his final shot of the three-position competition. The resulting zero score erased a virtually insurmountable lead and bumped him all the way to eighth place.

When informed of the gaffe, Emmons reportedly told an official “That will make a hell of a story.” He then congratulated teammate Michael Anti, who won silver.

Nice story, but it gets better.

According to NBCOlympics.com, that night Emmons was unwinding at a nearby beer garden when he was tapped on the shoulder by Olympic Czech shooter Katerina Kurkova, who had tracked him down because she wanted to express her sorrow over his misfortune (Kurkova helped announce the event for Czech television).

“I looked up, and it was one of those ‘Oh my God, she’s talking to me (moments),’” Emmons said.

A friendship developed that eventually blossomed into a relationship. In June 2007, the couple was married in the Czech Republic, and Katerina Kurkova became Katerina Emmons.

With Matt Emmons watching, Katerina Emmons won the first medal awarded at the 2008 Olympics (Saturday in Beijing, Friday night in Alaska), as she shot an Olympic-record 503.5 in the 10-meter air rifle competition. The score included a perfect 400 in the qualifying round.

Beyerle placed a solid fourth, just ahead of the defending Olympic champion from China. Beyerle and Matt Emmons were teammates at UAF in 2002-03, when Emmons was a senior and Beyerle a freshman.

“She did good, especially for her weaker of the two events,” Dan Jordan, UAF’s current rifle coach, said Friday. “Fourth, you hate being just out of the medals. She’s much stronger of a smallbore shooter. For her to do that well in air gun gives her a lot of confidence going into smallbore.”

Beyerle, 24, of Lebanon, Pa., will compete in the three-position competition on Thursday. She dealt with the unexpected blow of not making the 2004 Olympics by becoming even more determined, and isn’t satisfied merely participating in Beijing, Jordan said.

“Her whole focus has been to prepare to go and shoot world-class scores,” Jordan said Thursday. “Her goal of the (2008 U.S Olympic) trials and nationals was to shoot world-class scores, not just to win, and she shot really well (there). ... She’s sitting pretty good for winning a (Olympic) medal.”

Emmons a favorite

Matt Emmons, who won four individual NCAA titles while leading the Nanooks to four team championships from 1999-2003, hopes to follow his wife’s form in the 50-meter prone event (he’s the defending Olympic champion) on Aug. 15 and the 50-meter three-position on Aug. 17.

Jordan, his good friend and a former roommate at UAF, said Thursday that Emmons is a rarity among shooters.

“He will do whatever it takes to win. He doesn’t care what other people think,” Jordan said. “(At UAF) he sacrificed a lot of the college lifestyle in order to be a great athlete and it paid off. He didn’t party. He didn’t go out on the weekend.”

Emmons’ focus and dedication is phenomenal, said Jordan, who pegged him as the favorite in the three-position event and one of eight or 10 shooters capable of winning the prone competition.

“He expects perfection and he sees no reason why he can’t shoot a perfect score,” said Jordan, who will be glued to the competition on the Internet for the next 10 days.

Jordan, who spent considerable time with Emmons at this summer’s U.S. Nationals in Georgia, said he could relate to Emmons’ crossfire incident because he did the same thing once at the Junior Olympics.

“It happens to everybody at some point,” Jordan said. “It just so happened (to Emmons) at an inopportune moment. He should be able to put that behind him.”

Emmons, in an e-mail to the News-Miner sent Thursday from Beijing, insisted the incident was ancient history.

“Looking back, I don’t really think about it much unless someone brings it up. It doesn’t weigh on my mind and it was pretty much over and done with as soon as I realized it happened,” Emmons said. “I accept it for what it is and don’t let it bother me.”

Emmons, a member of the inaugural four-person University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks Hall of Fame class, plans to be in Fairbanks for the induction ceremony on Sept. 27. While he lists Fairbanks and Browns Mills, N.J., as his hometowns on his biography page at the USA Shooting Web site and had previously said he planned to eventually move to Fairbanks, that has probably now changed. He and Katerina now live in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“As of three years ago when I last went to Fairbanks, I had every intention of moving back there, but since I met Katy things have changed a little bit,” Emmons said. “If I plan to keep shooting after this Olympics, it doesn’t make sense for me logistically to live in Alaska since it’s so far away and it’s more difficult to travel to world competitions. I am sure Katy would love Fairbanks, but a lot of her family is still in the Czech Republic and her parents are going to be in Australia, so we have to factor in traveling to see her family.”

Emmons’ UAF experience was “pivotal” and left an indelible mark on his career. Emmons recalled how he made his first recruiting visit to UAF and immediately knew it was the place for him.

“When I got on the plane to head home from that visit, I felt like something was missing because Alaska just felt like home right away,” Emmons said. “UAF had everything that fit my expectations for a great team. My teammates felt like family to me and that is one of the most important aspects of the sport.”

Beyerle, in an e-mail from Beijing, echoed that sentiment.

“I wouldn’t be where I am right now if it wasn’t for shooting at UAF. The Alaska team had so much depth and it helped to make me the shooter that I am today, especially being on the team with Matt Emmons,” Beyerle said. “Moving to the Olympic Training Center (in Colorado Springs, Colo.) and having so many of the UAF shooters there really helped too.”

Corey Cogdell of Eagle River (trap shooting) and Carlos Boozer from Juneau (basketball) are the other Alaskans competing in China. Dave Johnson, the UAF rifle coach from 2000-02, is also leading the Olympic rifle team for the third time.

Contact staff writer Matias Saari at 459-7591 or msaari@newsminer.com.