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August 12, 2004 8:10 pm

2000 experience puts shooter on target for improvement

By Steve Rivera

Gannett News Service

ATHENS, Greece - It could be different for Sgt. 1st Class Daryl Szarenski at the 2004 Athens Games.

It's not that everything went wrong at the 2000 Sydney Games, but this time, Szarenski, a Saginaw, Mich., native, will use what he learned four years ago to try to improve upon his 25th place finish and perhaps medal in the air and free pistol events.

``I thought I executed well, but you can't have a mediocre day at the Olympics,'' said Szarenski, 36, a free-pistol gold medalist in last year's Pan American Games. ``This year I have the same opportunity. Hopefully I'll I have a better outcome. When I walked off the line last time - and even before I even looked at the score - I said to myself, `had I done everything I could have done?' At that time, there is nothing I could have done better.''

Now, he has the Sydney experience to build upon.

``You can't really prepare for it, although you can listen to the other guys and hear what to expect,'' he said. ``But until you experience it it's uncharted territory.

``Because I've been here before, I can be more focused.''

He said he doesn't expect any nervousness competing on the world stage.

``I thought I handled the nerves well (in Sydney),'' he said. ``When you're in the Olympics, you know you're going to have them.''

He competes this year under different circumstances, not only adding a second event (air pistol), but knowing that these Olympics are unlike past ones because of negative perceptions of the United States by some foreigners.

One of the first questions he faced was how comfortable he felt here as a member of the military.

``There has been no anti-American stuff,'' he said. ``It seems like any other event. No worse or better. We're allowed to do our job, and there's nothing holding up anything. It's business as usual.''

Business begins Saturday (Aug. 14) in air pistol and then moves to the free pistol on Tuesday (Aug. 17).

``Now I have the knowledge of what to expect,'' he said. ``The Olympics is a different competition because you have all the sports and all the competitions.''

Meaning it's the best of the best. He tempered his Pan Am Games gold medal by saying it was only the best of the Western Hemisphere. Now, it's the world.

He's grateful for the second opportunity to take on the challenge, after winning the U.S. Trials last fall.

``You work so hard to get to any Olympics you just don't know when you'll make it to another,'' he said. ``To be here again is just a great honor.''

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