Belarus, Cuba Win First Golds Of London Games In Shooting

Two shooting medals were awarded today in London, and two nations got themselves their first medals of the 2012 Games in Belarus and Cuba, including some world record performances.

First up was the men’s 50m prone rifle. Sergey Martynov tied a world record by shooting perfect 10s on all 60 of his shots in qualifications, then set a finals world record by scoring a 105.5 on 10 shots, which are ranked not simply as 10s but also graded by how close the shot is to the exact center of the circle. Second was Lionel Cox of Belgium, followed by Rajmond Debevec of Slovenia.

Then came the 25-meter rapid fire pistol competition. Russian Alexei Klimov set a world record by scoring 592 in the qualifications. By the way, this is what Klimov, and most rapid fire pistol shooters, wear while shooting:

Klimov couldn’t keep up his strong shooting in the finals though, as Leuris Pupo of Cuba hit 34 out of 40 shots -- including three sets of five-out-of-five, more than anybody in the competition -- to bring home his country’s first gold of the Olympics.That score of 34 tied a finals world record in the event.

So that’s two gold medals, but four world records -- two in qualifications, two in finals -- either set or tied.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation’s London 2012 Olympics Hub.