LONDON – Keith Sanderson did not mince words. He was disappointed with his 14th-place finish in rapid-fire pistol Olympic competition.

At the 2008 Beijing Games, Sanderson roared into the finals with the top score, an Olympic match record of 583. He ended up settling for fifth place.

Sanderson traveled to London hoping to medal, and he had strong reason for his hopes.

He gave himself a “D-plus” grade for his 578 score Friday. Cuba’s Leuris Pupo won the competition.

“Today was pretty bad,” said Sanderson, a sergeant first class at Fort Carson. “Obviously there was something going on with my technique that I was not aware of. It was something I developed the last couple days.”

Why wasn’t he able to solve the technique issue?

“If I knew what it was, I would have fixed it already,” he answered.

Sanderson’s arm has been troubling him, but he declined to use the problem as an excuse. His arm has “been better,” he said.

Sanderson has won three medals at recent World Cup competitions, including a gold at the 2009 event.

At Beijing, Sanderson felt some hostility from other competitors. He likes to compete when he feels “everyone is against me,” he said.

He did not feel the hostility in London. That might have been part of his problem.

“If anything, I had too much support,” he said.

Emil Milev, Sanderson’s teammate, finished 13th.

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