VIS shooters on target

Tuesday, 29 May 2012

Australia will field its strongest ever Paralympic shooting team at the London 2012 Paralympics Games as the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) officially announced the six shooters heading to the Games.

The VIS will be proudly represented by Beijing Paralympian Jason Maroney and Paralympic debutants Natalie Smith and Luke Cain.

Head Coach Miro Sipek said his athletes are the best prepared ever and with less than 100 days to go until the Games begin, believes they will return home with multiple medals. ‘I’m confident this is the best Australian team ever going to the Games. All of them are medal prospects,’ Sipek said.

In other shooting news, VIS scholarship holder Laetisha Scanlan broke her own Australian record in the women’s trap at Australia Cup 3 in Perth. The 22 year old posted a qualifying score of 74 from 75 to surpass the old mark by one target.

Scanlan continued her excellent shooting in the single barrel final to hit 22 targets and record a 10-target victory. Scanlan’s VIS teammate Catherine Skinner claimed second place with a combined total of 86.

In the men’s trap, VIS shooter Adam Vella held off a strong challenge from Glenn Kable (Fiji) to win by one target. Vella shot a score of 120 across the five rounds of qualifying, including a perfect closing round of 25, to take a one-target lead into the final.

Vella and Kable both shot excellent single barrel finals of 23, which was enough to see the 2004 Athens Olympic Games bronze medallist take the title.