Great Britain proved their dominance in skeet shooting today by winning gold and silver in the men’s skeet which follows the gold won by Sally Bond in the women’s event yesterday.

Michael Gilligan took out the gold, his final score of 142 putting him a decisive 11 shots ahead of compatriot Rory Warlow. Australian debutant Mathew Maloney finished in third.

“That’s a brilliant result. Sure I could have shot better, but I came over here aiming and hoping for the gold and that’s what I’ve got,” Gilligan said.

The 17-year-old shot with impressive control and accuracy through the early rounds, including a perfect 25 in the third round, proving he is an international shooting star of the future.

Maloney was in silver position going in to the final round but failed to match the calm consistency of Warlow. However the Australian was still ecstatic with earning a bronze medal in his first international appearance.

“I feel fan-friggin-tastic. This is the greatest time of my life being here and now to walk away with a medal, that’s unbelievable,” he said.

Maloney was fortunate to get away with the bronze medal after his inexperience showed in his final round score of 18.

“I knew Rory Warlow would come at me in that last round and I was prepared for that. It wasn’t nerves that got to me, but I just had a mental blank out there, stopped thinking and I missed a few shots I could have made,” he said.

Even before the bronze medal had been placed around his neck, Maloney was already thinking about his future in skeet shooting.

“This is just the start for me. From here I want to travel, getting more experience internationally and hopefully make a World Championships or Commonwealth Games team sometime soon.”

Evan Sieff
AYOF