Will Godward has started the ball rolling for the Australian Shooting Team on the opening morning of the 2011 Oceania Championships by winning the final of the men’s 10m air rifle
Will Godward (Kilkenny, SA) has started the ball rolling for the Australian Shooting Team on the opening morning of the 2011 Oceania Championships by winning the final of the men’s 10m air rifle at the Sydney International Shooting Centre.
Godward’s victory in the first final of the week also secured Australia its fifth Olympic quota place in shooting for London next year.
Godward was composed in his qualification round after a slow start to finish with a score of 582 from 600, leading fellow Australian John Coombes (Canberra, ACT) by four points, while the sole New Zealand contender Owen Bennett was two points further adrift.
Godward’s lead proved too much in the final as the 27-year-old kept Coombes at bay to win by 1.3 points with an overall score of 681.1.
Godward said he hoped his victory spurred on the rest of the team.
“Today was obviously a big relief and in the end of the day we came here to win the quota for Australia,” Godward said.
“My match could have been a bit better today but in the back of your mind I knew that the main aim was to beat the New Zealander.
“Hopefully the rest of the team can now go well this week and we can qualify as many people as possible for next year.”
The Australian team can win a total of 15 Olympic quotas during the four day event and will have the chance to add more quotas this afternoon.
1996 Atlanta Olympic gold medallist Russell Mark (Hoppers Crossing, VIC) has a stranglehold on the men’s double trap competition after two rounds, holding a six target lead over Nicholas Kirley (Mansfield, VIC).
Mark’s bid to make a sixth Olympic Games appearance is reliant on the Australian team picking up a quota in the men’s double trap and the 47-year old Victorian holds a 14 target lead over the leading New Zealand contender Graeme Ede with one round and the final remaining.
Finals in the women’s 10m air rifle and women’s 25m sport pistol will both be staged this afternoon, with competition just underway in both events.
The women’s skeet final will also be held this afternoon, with Australia’s team of Lauryn Mark (Hoppers Crossing, VIC), Laura Coles (Busselton, WA) and Zita Dettori (Castle Hill, NSW) chasing individual glory with no quotas on offer for Australia.
Mark won Australia’s only available quota in the women’s skeet with a ninth place finish at the World Cup in Sydney in March this year.
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Australian International Shooting Ltd