SHOOTING: Australia has qualified three Olympic spots from as many available, on the opening day of the Oceania Championship in Sydney.
Emma Woodroofe (Parham, SA) staged an amazing victory in the Women’s Rifle 3 Position final when she made a last-minute dash to the finish, coming from fifth place to equal New Zealand’s Jenna Mackenzie, and then claim the title in a shoot-off.
Woodroofe’s gold medal also secured Australia a spot for the Rio Olympic Games, a victory she will always carry with her.
“I’m so excited to have won the quota place for Australia. I like an exciting final, so it played to my strength a little bit. I wasn’t too nervous because I knew that the standing position is my strength, so I was sure that if I did what I was good at, I would get there. It would be awesome if I got to go to Rio!” Woodroofe said.
Over in the Men’s Rifle 3 Position competition, Dane Sampson (Oakden, SA) led the camp all the way from qualification to the final, claiming the title confidently. The podium was dominated by a Green and Gold trifecta. South Aussie Will Godward (St Clair) took the Silver, while Daniel Clopatofsky (Bankstown, NSW) won the Bronze medal.
Sampson said he was feeling well prepared, ahead of the Olympic Selection even in Adelaide next month.
“It’s a great relief to have won the quota today. My focus now is to get selected and not just represent my country at the Olympics, but actually achieve a medal,” he said.
National Rifle High Performance coach Petr Kurka congratulated Woodroofe and Sampson on their well-deserved titles, saying that their hard work was paying off in spades.
The third and final quota today was won by Elena Galiabovitch (Mentone, VIC) in the women's 25m pistol. The 26-year-old medical intern at Eastern Health is incredibly poised as she makes tracks toward Rio.
“I feel very happy to have won the quota. I had a challenging start during the first half of my qualification and had to regroup going into the second half. I need to keep training and be well prepared to replicate this performance in the Olympic Selection events in February and March,” Galiabovitch said.
The Silver and Bronze went to Victorians Linda Ryan and Lalita Yauhleuskaya respectively.
SHOOTING AUSTRALIA
