LONDON -- Two devastating and embarrassing moments at past Olympics really don't mean that much to U.S. shooter Matt Emmons, even if he did lose gold medals by shooting at the wrong target and having his gun fire accidentally.
He just beat cancer, which puts everything else in perspective, even the Olympics.
As he prepares for competition in his third Olympics, the former University of Alaska Fairbanks riflery star, who has won two Olympic gold medals and had two others slip through his hands, plans to use what he learned from his illness and his Olympic disasters in 2004 and 2008 as an asset.
"The fact of the matter is I have been through more stuff on and off the range than anyone else standing on that firing line, which is a huge advantage," said Emmons, 31, who also has been dealing with a bad back in recent months. "I know if I'm able to physically hold the gun still enough, I think I can be competitive."
Emmons, a two-time Olympic gold medal winner in 50-meter prone rifle, is the greatest shooter in the history of UAF's great riflery program. He won four NCAA individual titles and helped the Nanooks to four straight NCAA team championships before beginning his Olympic saga.
The tale began at the Athens Games in 2004, when Emmons had a big lead going into the final shot of the 50-meter, three-position rifle event, in which competitors shoot from kneeling, standing and prone positions. But he accidentally fired at the wrong person's target on his last attempt, earning no points and falling out of medal contention completely.
After the mishap, he carried himself with grace, almost shrugging it off as just a weird thing that can happen. Later, he was hanging around having a few beers with friends when Katy Kurkova, a female shooter from the Czech Republic, came up to offer condolences. They hit it off and got married in 2007, proving that good can come even after a crushing defeat.
Four years later at the Beijing Games, his wife was in the stands when Emmons again lost the gold in the same event. Emmons was ahead going into the final shot. But again, there was a foul-up. His gun accidentally went off while he was still lining it up. The crowd gasped audibly and Katy Emmons looked stunned as her husband fell out of the medals for a second time. He finished fourth.
Emmons' biggest battle started in September 2010. Shortly after his cancer diagnosis, he had his thyroid removed.
He gets checkups twice a year and will be on medication for the rest of his life. Early in his treatment, Emmons and his doctors struggled to find the right dosage. The medicine affects a person's metabolism, making it tough at that stage to train consistently, U.S. shooting coach Dave Johnson said.
"That's been a challenge," he said. "He's had to adjust."
Emmons says he's glad to be on the other side of his medical hurdle.
"As far as I know, I'm clean," he said. "My hormone levels ... are right where they need to be. I feel good."
Johnson has known Emmons since he was 15. He coached him in Fairbanks for two seasons as the head coach at UAF and has seen him mature through the Olympic errors and the cancer.
"He has a very healthy view of sport and I think that will carry him through," he said. "He wants to get this done."
Emmons will compete in London in the 50-meter, three-position rifle and the 10-meter air rifle. His wife also is back shooting for her homeland after winning gold in 10-meter air rifle and silver in the 50-meter, three-position rifle in Beijing. She placed fourth in Saturday's air rifle.
The two have a child, Julie, born in 2009. Their daughter is staying with her mother's family in the Czech Republic during the Olympics so that mom and dad can focus on their competitions. Fatherhood, Emmons said, brought with it another discovery: There is "something way more important" than sport.
He's been able to put his past Olympic mistakes in perspective. Little would have been made of his blunders if they hadn't happened during the Olympics, he said.
"If it's in a World Cup competition, it's no big deal, nobody talks about it," Emmons said. "But, of course, the Olympics, everyone talks about it."
And that's still happening. He's asked all the time about having twice lost gold -- which has, along with actually losing the medals, brought him a thicker skin.
"All those things have made me a much wiser person, a much smarter person and I appreciate a lot of things now that maybe I didn't eight, nine years ago," Emmons said. "I honestly don't worry about too much anymore."
By BETSY BLANEY
Associated Press