No national flag leaves Kuwaiti champ in tears

Fehaid Aldeehani, an independent athlete from Kuwait, celebrates winning the double trap gold medal on Wednesday. [Photo/Agencies]

Kuwaiti marksman Fehaid Aldeehani battled wet and blustery conditions to win the men's double trap event on Wednesday, becoming the first athlete to ever win a gold medal while competing under the Olympic flag.

But the 49-year-old, six-time Olympian said he was sad he could not win for Kuwait, banned last year by the International Olympic Committee.

Aldeehani defeated Marco Innocenti of Italy in the duel for gold, nailing 26 orange targets out of 30. Innocenti had 24. The bronze medal went to Britain's Steven Scott.

Clad entirely in black, Aldeehani pounded his fist on his chest, a gesture he said was to show the Kuwaiti people "we are here and got the medal."

"I can't describe my feeling on the podium," he said of the moment he watched the Olympic flag hoisted up the pole.

"I am winning the gold medal, the biggest achievement of the Games, without raising my country's flag. It really hurts me, I can hardly stop crying."

The IOC suspended Kuwait in October 2015, accusing the government of interference in its national Olympic Committee. Earlier this month, Kuwait lost a court case against the ban, meaning Kuwaiti athletes would only be allowed to compete under the Olympic flag.

Aldeehani made sports history for his country in Sydney 2000 when he won bronze in double trap and became the first Kuwaiti of any sport to win a medal at the Olympics. He won another bronze in trap in London 2012.

He said his experience really paid off in the final against Innocenti, himself a three-time Olympian.

The 37-year-old Italian said he became very emotional when he knew he was going medal going into the last round.

"The conditions were rather difficult, the wind, the rain, and each clay target was different, so you really needed a lot of experience and also a little bit of luck," said Innocenti.