Shooting bronze

Press, 28 July 1986, Page 20

Shooting bronze

From

ROBIN CHARTERIS,

in Edinburgh

A casually read article in the Games Village newspaper that morning helped New Zealand win a bronze medal in the pairs section of the skeet shooting on Saturday.

“It was about a rifle shooter Improving his concentration by slow, shallow breathing,” said John Farrell, who, partnered by the more experienced John Woolley, took New Zealand to third place behind England and Canada: "! just looked at it for something to read,” he said. Farrell, needing 24

birds in the final 25-bird round for New Zealand to pip Austrlaia for the bronze, missed with his first shot. “I was so wild for a minute,” he said afterwards. “Then I remembered what I’d read, breathed slow and shallow and got the next 24.” That gave New Zealand a total of 189 out of a possible 200, four behind Canada and six behind England, whose score of 195 was a Games record.

Woolley, aged 35, twice a previous Commonwealth Games gold medallist and one of the world’s best skeet shooters, shot one perfect score of 25 in his

four rounds. He finished before the 31-year-old Farrell and anxiously watched with other New Zealand supporters as his team-mate cleared the final birds. Woolley’s personal score of 96 was bettered by only four other shooters. Farrell finished with two rounds of 24 birds for a personal total of 93.

The New Zealand shooting team manager, Mr Graeme Hudson, was delighted with the result.

“It was a close battle with Australia for the bronze,, but John Farrell kept his cool and shot extremely well,” he said.