London - UPI
Peter Wilson of Britain survived the mounting pressure Thursday to turn in a perfect final four rounds of shooting and win the Olympic double trap title. The tall, lanky Wilson, a youngster at age 25 competing against a group of seasoned veterans in their 40s, headed into the finals with a comfortable six-point lead. It is the kind of advantage that is usually safe among world class marksmen. There are 25 rounds in the final, during which two clay targets are launched simultaneously. Both targets count for one point, creating a maximum score of 50. Wilson missed one target in his sixth, 10th and 13th rounds, but maintained his lead as the other finalists had their misses along the way as well. In the 21st round, however, Wilson missed both targets, bringing a gasp from the crowd that had come out to cheer the British competitor. Hakan Dahlby of Sweden, who had begun the finals tied for fifth place, was suddenly only two points behind and he completed his shooting with 49 out of 50 points in the finals. Wilson, struggling to avoid a collapse, then hit both targets in each of his final four trips to the line. When he struck the final two targets, he slumped to his knees in relief. His final score was 188 to Dahlby\'s 186. Vasily Mosin of Russia and Fehaid Aldeehani of Kuwait tied for third and Mosin won the shootout for the bronze when Aldeehani missed one of his first two targets. Aldeehani owns the only Olympic medal in Kuwait\'s history, having won the bronze in this event at the 2000 Games in Sydney.