9 August 2008 - Serrano (MEX) exceeds expectations, Koran men meet expectations

Serrano (MEX) exceeds expectations, Korean men meet expectations Beijing – 9 August 2008 Juan Rene SERRANO (MEX)    Mexico's Juan Rene SERRANO has surpassed all expectations claiming first place in the men's ranking round. SERRANO's score of 679 was only five points off the Olympic record and is a personal best.   The Korean men on the other hand met expectations by having the highest team score. The combined score from all three of Korea's archers was 2,015 points. PARK Kyung-Mo led the Korean men with a score of 676 points.   The top nine individual qualifiers were extremely close with only nine points separating the first place finisher SERRANO from the ninth place finisher Ilario DI BUO (ITA).   Mangal Singh CHAMPIA (IND) and Viktor RUBAN (UKR) shot the same score of 678, only one point off first place. CHAMPIA will get the second seed because he shot 14 Xs compared to RUBAN's 8 Xs. The X-ring does not add additional points to the archer’s score but is used as a tie-breaker since it is the centre-most ring on the target.   Baljinima TSYREMPILOV (RUS) performed as expected and finished sixth in the ranking round.   Simon TERRY (GBR), after a sixteen-year absence from the Olympic Games, managed an impressive seventh place finish. TERRY had to work his way up from a mediocre 23rd position after the first half.   Marco GALIAZZO (ITA), the reigning Athens 2004 Olympic champion, also improved after a poor start. GALIAZZO finished in 12th after being in 26th halfway through the ranking round.   Romain GIROUILLE (FRA) who is ranked No. 4 in the world had the most disappointing day with an unexpected 51st finish.   Ukraine will head into the team elimination matches ranked second after scoring 1,997 ahead of third ranked Malaysia who totalled 1,993.   The USA combined for a disappointing 1,969 points, leaving in tenth place after the ranking round.   ONS jf/jg/skh