1―16. Gold Medal
“Yes, this is the Olympic shooting men’s 10m air pistol finals. South Korea’s Jeong Minha has advanced in first place from the preliminaries and made it into the final eight.”
Two commentators announced the start of the match and relayed the situation. The broadcast screen showed a scene that seemed to sweep over the entire shooting range.
“In Jeong Minha’s case, he was a player who won the silver medal by setting a new record at the last 202X Olympics. At that time, he was also called a genius player for shooting consecutive perfect scores for the first time in the pistol category, and although there was a regrettable mistake then, we’re really looking forward to seeing how it will be this time.”
“When he departed, he became a hot topic by declaring that he would definitely win a gold medal.”
“Yes, that’s right! Ah, as soon as I mention it, we can see Jeong Minha on screen.”
Jeong Minha was shown standing in position.
He stood obediently facing the spectator seats with an indifferent expression, then bowed slightly in greeting.
“Let me introduce the 10m air pistol finals format. First, after shooting a total of ten shots with two series of five shots each, it will proceed with fourteen single shots where the lowest-ranking player is eliminated every two shots.”
“We can see Jeong Minha raising his arm right away.”
At the top of the screen appeared the Olympic logo along with text saying Jeong Minha competing, and at the bottom, a green scoreboard appeared.
In the center, Jeong Minha was shown in position with his arm raised.
Bang, with the accompanying sound, Jeong Minha released his stance and lowered his head to check the scoreboard.
“10.3! Ah, good start!”
“Until now, Jeong Minha has always shot in the 10-point range for his first shot. His concentration is amazing.”
“He’s currently in 3rd place with the first shot. The other players all shot well too. But we can believe in him. Jeong Minha has his own formula.”
“Yes, he surprised everyone by showing in the preliminaries the record he showed at the last Olympics, ah, 10.5! Jeong Minha has shot his second shot.”
“Like last time, Jeong Minha always shot perfect scores from his fourth shot onward. Will it be the same this time too… The third shot following right away, 10.7! Good, his aim is gradually rising!”
“At this rate, could the formula be right again this time?”
“Jeong Minha raises his arm again. The fourth shot that follows….”
They held their breath for a moment at the aiming time that was longer than before. His straight arm stopped motionlessly toward one point.
Soon the score appeared on the electronic board with the firing sound.
[10.9]
“Ah! He really shot it, it’s a perfect score!”
“Jeong Minha has climbed up to 2nd place! He’s doing very well. And this player has something scary about him! Once he shoots a perfect score…!”
Along with faster aiming time, the score was displayed on the electronic board again.
[10.9]
“Consecutive perfect scores! Once Jeong Minha gets his aim right, he shows an amazing record of continuing to shoot perfect scores!”
“He’s climbed up to 1st place now! Really good concentration, he just needs to keep this up!”
After completing all ten series shots, Jeong Minha maintained 1st place.
“From now on it’s single shots. The lowest-ranking player is eliminated every two shots.”
“If Jeong Minha maintains his ranking like this, there’s really a possibility of a gold medal. I’m getting nervous myself.”
“Because of the return of the player called a genius, many people are probably watching right now. It really seems like everyone has a cheering heart.”
The 8th and 7th place players were shown being eliminated and returning to their seats.
On Jeong Minha’s target board, dots appeared only within the 10-point range. He was still in 1st place.
“Ah… Jeong Minha, needless to say. It keeps marking dead center so I’m confused whether he’s continuing to shoot. Truly amazing skill.”
“Moreover, Jeong Minha shoots considerably faster than the other players. As if his body remembers the position, he shoots almost immediately after raising his arm. Ah, 10.8! As expected, showing a good score! He’s doing very well!”
In the middle of the excited commentators’ relay, Jeong Minha’s arm was suddenly shown trembling slightly.
[10.6]
“10.6! It’s okay, the gap with 2nd place is still large.”
“Actually this is also a good score, but Jeong Minha’s average is so high.”
The 6th place player was eliminated and returned to their seat. Jeong Minha continued to look only straight ahead.
[10.8]
[10.3]
The 5th place player was eliminated. Only four players remained on the shooting line.
[10.1]
[9.5]
The 4th place player also returned to their seat. The remaining players were now guaranteed medals.
“South Korea’s Jeong Minha! A bronze medal is definitely confirmed! But due to a regrettable mistake, the score gap with 2nd place has narrowed…!”
“He can do it, he just needs to pull back up! If he just maintains the mid-10 point range, 1st place is confirmed!”
Seeing the score that dropped to the 9-point range, Jeong Minha let out a small sigh and ran his hand through his hair. The scene from four years ago came to mind.
Looking at his tilted posture and bobbing head, it seemed he himself didn’t like this situation either.
He calmed his trembling breath and stretched his arm straight. The aiming time grew longer again.
[9.8]
“1 point difference with 2nd place! Jeong Minha needs to concentrate just a bit more here!”
Only three shots remained. That too, under the premise of not being eliminated in 3rd place.
“Jeong Minha is shown calming down and concentrating for a moment.”
Jeong Minha, who had been looking straight ahead the whole time, turned his head to the side. On the broadcast screen, it looked like he was turning his gaze slightly to clear his head.
Soon he lowered his head again, then let out a small laugh as he picked up his gun.
“…Ah, he suddenly laughed?!”
“Which way did he look? Um, it seems he looked at the spectator seats and laughed. Wow, a player who had such a serious expression the whole time, it was scary…. Ah! In the following score…!”
[10.9]
“He achieves a perfect score again! 3rd place player eliminated! South Korea’s Jeong Minha, the silver medal is confirmed!”
“Good, very well done! He suddenly gained strength! Jeong Minha pulled up to a perfect score right away without his characteristic aiming preparation!”
“Now there are two players left, only the last two shots remain…. Gasp, he shot another perfect score right after! Jeong Minha climbs back up with tremendous momentum!”
“Jeong Minha is currently in 1st place! The gap with 2nd place has widened quite a bit again. Ah, as soon as I say that, the 2nd place player has shot! 10.6! A good score. If Jeong Minha just doesn’t drop to the 9-point range like this, it’s a gold medal!”
“Jeong Minha is shown concentrating again. Right away… huh?”
Suddenly, they made eye contact with Jeong Minha on the broadcast screen.
Thanks to the director who quickly switched the relay to that camera, the scene appeared clearly on the broadcast.
Jeong Minha looked at the camera and lifted one corner of his mouth, smiling slightly.
“What’s that suddenly? How did he even find the camera?!”
“Haha, I was really surprised too…. Ah! Jeong Minha! He shot right away! The score is…!”
After a slight delay due to the air pistol’s tracking time, the score appeared on the electronic board.
[10.9]
“10.9…! A, a perfect score! He succeeds in continuing with a perfect score at the end too!”
“He really made it happen just like he said! Was that smile just now his confidence?! So cool!”
“Gold medal, it’s a gold medal! The 202X Olympic shooting men’s 10m air pistol gold medal, South Korea’s Jeong Minha has proudly taken 1st place!”
“It’s a world record! Jeong Minha has set a world record in both the preliminaries and finals!”
“That’s right, with 623 points in 60 preliminary shots and 256 points in 24 final shots, both are Olympic world-first record achievements…! Ah, truly unbelievable scores!”
“In just this finals, Jeong Minha shot 14 out of 24 shots at 10.9 points! Among those, 11 were achieved consecutively! He set a new record four years ago too and he broke it again! A truly amazing record!”
Along with the commentator’s raised voice, large text was displayed at the bottom of the screen.
[Shooting Men’s 10m Air Pistol Olympic World Record Achievement]
[South Korea Jeong Minha Gold Medal]
Jeong Minha finally breathed out comfortably.
His smiling face was shown in close-up as he left his position. Applause and cheers could be heard from the spectator seats.
Soon after, he raised the gun in his left hand and the Taegeukgi in his right hand and waved them at the screen.
The awards ceremony followed immediately. Three players from each country stood in order in front of the podium. The 3rd and 2nd place players went up in order and received the bronze and silver medals.
And finally, Jeong Minha stepped onto the center position.
