MADISON, Wis. — It's not like Mike Cumming hadn't been on the medal stand before at the ESPN Great Outdoor Games. He won the bronze medal in the rifle competition last year in Reno, Nev.

But when Cumming, a 33-year-old body shop owner from Altoona, Pa., defeated Doug Koenig in the semifinals and Jerry Miculek in the finals to win the rifle gold medal Saturday, it was nothing less than an upset.

Koenig won the gold medal last year and was the silver medalist the three previous years. Miculek won the gold medal in 2001 and 2002.

"Doug and Jerry are the two best," said Cumming. "Beating both of them made me so happy it's unbelievable."

	Mike Cumming

Both of Cumming's last two matches were seesaw affairs, especially the semifinal win over Koenig, a 35-year-old professional shooter from Albertis, Pa. Koenig appeared to have hit the last target on his dueling tree to close out the match, but the target didn't completely swing into the red or "hit" position. Before Koenig could close it out, Cumming shot the last three targets on his dueling tree.

"I thought I had him," said Koenig, who had advanced to the finals in all four previous GOG rifle events. "But Mike shot the best overall today and he deserved to win."

Miculek, a 49-year-old professional shooter from Princeton, La., also tipped his hat to Cumming.

"He was hopped up," Miculek said. "It's a pretty hostile environment when you step up there to shoot. It's dog-eat-dog. You could tell (Cumming) wanted blood and I couldn't keep him at bay."

In what was a rematch of last year's gold medal round, Carl Bernosky of Ashland, Pa., defeated Koenig in the consolation round to win this year's bronze medal.

Rifle - Finals results

1. Mike Cumming, Altoona, Pa.
2. Jerry Miculek, Princeton, La.
3. Carl Bernosky, Ashland, Pa.
4. Doug Koenig, Albertis, Pa.
5. Randy Hendrix, Clemons, N.C.
5. Bruce Piatt, Montvale, N.J.
5. Vince Cumming, Altoona, Pa.
5. John Bagakis, Livermore, Calif.
9. Keith Brown, Greensboro, N.C.
9. Don Clark, Hollidaysburg, Pa.
9. Tony Holmes, Otterbein, Ind.
9. Ron Weaver, Odessa, Texas.
9. Bob Maples, Godfrey, Ill.
9. Jorge Rodriguez, Henderson, Nev.
9. Tim Vaitekunas, Edwardsville, Ill.
9. Randy Hollowbush, Topton, Pa.