In his first Olympic Games, 23-year-old Matt Emmons of Browns Mills, a former New Jersey Junior, won the gold medal in the men’s prone in Athens on Friday, August 20th. The first U.S. shooter in over 40 years to qualify in three rifle events, Matt is also the reigning World Champion in men’s 50m prone. He is the first shooter in U.S. history to win the World Championships and Olympics back-to-back in this event.

Matt fell short of the finals in men’s air, and missed winning the gold medal in three-position by one shot. After fighting through a two-point deficit to lead the competition by three points going into the final shot of the day, he cross-fired onto the next competitor’s target, receiving a zero for his last shot and finishing 8th. “It’s happened to all of us said teammate and silver medalist Michael Anti. “We know Matt shot a gold medal performance. He is, by far, the best shooter I know.”

After Athens, Matt will be returning to school at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs where he will study for his MBA. He will also train at the Olympic Training Center at Colorado Springs in preparation for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.