Jason Turner finishes fourth in air pistol

BEIJING - Jason Turner flirted with a bronze medal. He also flirted with disaster.

He finished fourth Saturday in 10-meter air pistol Olympic competition. He has no complaints, even though he struggled in his final two shots. Turner is a long-time resident of Colorado Springs who works as a bartender at Texas Roadhouse on 8^th Street.

"I feel really good about this," Turner said of his finish.

After Turner's eighth shot in the finals, he vaulted into third place, passing North Korea's Jong Su Kim. Turner seemed ready to deliver a major shooting upset in a sport traditionally dominated by Asian shooters.

He had come a long way from his first shot, when he recorded 8.8. It was the equivalent of shooting an air ball on a basketball free throw.

He was, somehow, able to shake off his disappointment. Turner has been trained for years to forget each shot, good or bad, before the next. He took several deep breaths and stared at the ground while vigorously chewing his spearmint gum.

He quickly regained his composure.

"It wasn't the end of the match," Turner said of his first shot. "It happens. It's fine. ... You prepare for the next shot. You can't get too high or too low."

He fought back and on his eighth shot recorded a 10.8, pushing him past Kim. With two shots left, a medal was in sight.

On his ninth shot, with his trigger finger sweating, he shot 8.9. That ended his chances at a medal.

Turner said he never knew where he was in the standings. At some venues, he said, a shooter can see the scoreboard. Here, he had no chance to see his place on the board.

"I had no idea," he said.

After his 10^th and final shot in regulation, Turner was told he needed to participate in a shootoff with teammate Brian Beaman. Turner said he didn't know what place he was competing to earn.

Beaman shot 10.3, and Turner quickly followed with a 10.5, clinching fourth place.

"It was wonderful," Turner said. "I'm glad it was me."

The shooting venue was kept quiet. When Turner competed in 2004 in Athens, the shooters were surrounded by a circus. Fans shouted and stomped and clapped.

Turner competed in a red USA T-shirt and black walking shorts. He never changed expression.

When the crowd did make noise, it was for gold medal winner Wei Pang, who won the competition by 1.5 points, a massive margin by shooting standards.

Contact the writer: Columnist David Ramsey can be reached at 476-4985 or david.ramsey@gazette.com. Check out David's blog at http://daveramseysez.freedomblogging.com.