ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 16, 1996 TAG: 9604160099
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BRUCE STANTON STAFF WRITER
No crossing oceans to a foreign land for Ben Amonette this time. No adjusting to crazy time zones or unappetizing cuisine.
When the Radford resident competes in a major pistol shooting match this time - the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta - he won't even have to leave Eastern Daylight Time.
Amonette, 41, earned his second berth in an Olympics on Monday when he finished second in the U.S. Olympic free pistol team trials at the Wolf Creek Shooting Complex in Atlanta. The trials, held in conjunction with the North American Shooting Championships, were the culmination of four rounds of Olympic team competition, which began in October.
Amonette competed in the free pistol and air pistol events in the Barcelona Games in 1992, but he said qualifying for an Olympics being held in his home country means a lot more.
``I'm really glad. It feels great,'' he said from his hotel room in Atlanta. ``Usually, when we go to big matches, we have to go over to Europe or somewhere overseas and we're fighting time zone changes and eating different food.
``It will be nice to have it so close to home, and hopefully a lot of my family will be able to come.''
Amonette's wife, Patty, already is looking forward to seeing another opening ceremony in addition to watching her husband compete.
``We're very proud of him,'' she said from their home in Radford.
In the free pistol competition, shooters aim a .22-caliber pistol at a two-inch target 50 meters away - more than half a football field in distance. The competitors are given two hours to fire 60 rounds, Amonette said, with a maximum of 10 points given for every shot.
Then, in a final round, shooters are given 10 more shots, but only 75 seconds to make each shot.
On Monday, the competition was down to the final four qualifiers. Neal Caloia of Cottage Grove, Ore., won with a score of 643.0 out of a possible 709, and Amonette was right behind with a 642.1. The top two finishers make the Olympic team.
While Amonette was enjoying his victory Monday night, he already was setting his sights on another Olympic double. Wednesday, he will be competing for a berth on the U.S. air pistol team. The air pistol competition involves a 10-meter distance and a 3/8-inch target.
Besides Amonette, the air pistol finalists are Greg Derr, Daryl Szarenski and Caloia.
``Now that I've got the free pistol behind me, I'm hoping I won't be nervous for the air pistol,'' he said, noting that the air pistol is his stronger event of the two. ``Regardless of what happens from this point on, I know I'm going to go to the Olympics.''
In the Barcelona Games, Amonette was 14th in the air pistol and 19th in the free pistol.
Despite that experience, the Radford resident said he likely will be more nervous in this Olympics.
``Really and truly, I'm more nervous about this one because I've been shooting higher scores, and I feel there's more at stake,'' he said. ``I haven't been shooting the same scores as the people who are winning, but I'm closer to them. I just need to focus on the performance end of it and not try to think about where I'm going to place or who I'm going to be shooting against.''
Amonette, who is sponsored by the Army Reserve Team, has been taking part in shooting competitions for 16 years. He practices his free pistol shooting at a range near Radford, and he practices his air pistol shooting in his basement.
Interestingly, Amonette took a new job five days before the shooting trials in Atlanta. But he said his new employer, Alliant Techsystems, is behind him all the way.
``They've really been super, and they wanted me to continue to pursue making the Olympic team,'' he said. ``They've got to be understanding for me to work for only five days and then be off for two weeks.''
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