Shooting: NZ bow out with Taylor missing final

ATHENS - New Zealand's involvement in the shooting component of the Olympic Games ended here today as Levin carpenter Ryan Taylor missed out on qualifying for the men's 50m rifle prone final.

Taylor, 23, was culled from a high quality field of 46 at the Markopoulo Olympic Shooting Centre after recording 589 from a possible 600 in qualifying.

Only eight shooters progressed to the final later today with Italian Marco De Nicolo sneaking into last spot with a score of 595.

American Matthew Emmons was ranked first heading into the 10-round final, having just missed a perfect score in tallying 599.

Taylor eventually finished in a share of 36th place with two other shooters.

- NZPA