Olympic Games: Shooting: A shotgun romance

THE first competition of the games produced the first moments romance and politics. The romance came in the form of an 18-year-old South Korean called Yeo Kab-soon (above), who won the Games' first gold medal - the women's 10 metre air-rifle - with an Olympic record score in her first international event.

Yeo took up the sport a mere four years ago after watching it on television, and produced near-perfect shooting. Her score of 498.2 was a whisker away from the world record of 500.8.

The politics came from the bronze medallist, Aranka Binder, appearing as an individual competitor from Yugoslavia, which meant that under the International Olympic Committee's regulations, the Olympic banner was raised at the medal ceremony instead of the Yugoslav one. Binder, who was placed next to a Bosnian competitor in the final series, thus becomes the first athlete competing as an individual to win an Olympic medal.

Konstantin Lukashik, 16, of the Unified Team, made it a good day for teenagers by winning the men's free pistol.

(Photograph omitted)