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⇒ Munich World Cup
⇒ April 08
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Munich World Cup

Currently in Munich for my first World Cup this year and shot on Sunday to equal the British Record of 598 ex 600. That however was with about 140 shooters and only approx. 80 were going through to today (Monday's) qualification match.

Not content with equaling the record, I had to try and beat it in the qualification round. It wasn't until my 53rd shot that I got a 9 and then carried on with 10s to end on 599, only 1 pt away from a perfect score and obviously the World Record (you can imagine the thoughts running through my head ... ;)

2 of us made the final with 599, the other being a two time Olympian and current World Champion from Belarus. In 3rd place was Vejborn from Norway on 598 and 4th-8th all on 597 which is very high standards, even for a World Cup as often expect to see at least 1x596 qualify.

When we shoot a 10 shot final you are no longer just interested in whether the shot is a 10 or 9 but more so in how good the shot iquality is.
A shot touching the 10 ring is a 10.0. A shot which is plumb centre is called a 10.9 and everything in between is graduated.
To give you an idea 0.1 decimal place in the score equates to approx. 0.8mm and a final of 10 shots over 103.0 would be classed a reasonable final...

104.2 was had and set a new British Final Record also set of 703.2 (599 + 104.2). It was previously 701.7

To find out more... http://www.issf.tv/  and click on 50M Rifle Men Prone Final. From there you can see some pics.
On the left hand side you can also watch a video (approx 30mins) which was streamed live over the 'net during the final and you may find amusing.

Some other links http://www.britishshooting.org.uk  and http://www.nsra.co.uk , http://www.ssra.co.uk
 

April 08

"It's been an exciting few months what with taking the plunge and giving up my full-time employment to concentrate 100% on my sport and give myself every chance possible for the big competitions this year. I have been away training in Frankfurt, Dortmund, Johannesburg and Granada over the past 7 weeks. Germany gave the GB team access to world class indoor facilities allowing full concentration to be on technical aspects rather than feeling the adverse effects of the cold British weather because we would have had to train outdoors here - imagine lying on a concrete firing point in 3 or 4oC, it doesn't take long for your hands to turn purple!

The foundations were nicely set in Germany which allowed to me to go to Johannesburg for 2 weeks warm weather training and get back to shooting outdoors, practising in all sort of weather conditions. Some days I was faced with mirage and other days the most torrential thunder and lightning storms. It was all good experience for some of the most extreme conditions, hopefully none quite so severe will be present in May however although if they are, then I'll go in knowing I have an edge. Waking up each morning to an amazing African sunrise certainly helps to get you out of bed and motivated for the day!
A nice 7-8km jog in the morning, followed by breakfast would set me up nicely for a good day on the range. As with all sports, you're always looking for that little bit extra in your technique and mental approach that gives you an advantage over your fellow competitors ... this trip helped me to unearth and really work on things that I have been trying to over come for the past few months.

It wasn't all shooting, there were other adventures such as one day when I was training, the range owner's daughter (Zurichka, 8yrs old) came running up to me tell me there was a Mozambique spitting cobra downstairs in the air rifle range. Not something you want to get in the way of as if it does bite you, you had better be quick to get some anti-venom.

Straight after South Africa, I was reunited with the GB team in Granada, Spain at the range used for the European Championships last year. We were hoping for nice warm weather but had to settle for a mediocre 10-14oC for the week. I still hit the ground running and managed to improve consistency further and by the end of the week I was shooting some of the best shots I ever have.

The past 12 days at home have been split between strength and conditioning work, cardio work and technical training all in preparation for the coming 5 weeks away in Europe. Tomorrow I head to Hannover and from there the team is going to Plzen in the Czech Republic. After those two competitions we have two big comps which are the World Cups in Munich and Milan. Not long now until selections are made for Beijing, although only 1 quota place has been secured and there are 4 of us in the team!"

End of Year Blog 07

A few months ago I decided it was time for a change. This change was to put my current rifle to bed and try a new one in an effort to overcome the current boundaries I was hitting. 

Within only 1 week I broke my PB shooting a more than respectable 597 out of 600, which would normally see a shooter placed within the top 8 of a World Cup event.

This new found confidence will hopefully help me build upon my previous successes, and reach my ultimate goal of winning an Olympic medal and representing my country in the most coveted event possible.

Competition season doesn't start until early in the New Year and it is now that the GB team spends most of their time focusing on the technical and physical elements of their sport. Over the past 5 weeks, I have been in Hanover for 2 one week long training camps which has allowed me to use a top class facility within the warmth of an indoor range.

Access to such facilities makes such a huge difference to the quality of training the team can do.
A typical day's training for us would be to be 'Rise at 06:40 and go for a run. After which we would have breakfast and shower, then head to the range which was only a 6-7min walk away.

All equipment is cleaned, setup and ready to go for a 9am start. Each individual focuses on elements specific to them. Whether that be their trigger control, breathing, balance and hold. We do this using a series of training drills and techniques.
There is often a match thrown into the day to try and pull your mind back to competition like shooting.
Lunch is then served and proceedings start again at 2pm until 5pm.
Everyone packs up, and heads to the gym for an hour of cardio and core strength training. Out for dinner at 8pm and back to the hotel for 10pm, then off to bed for some much needed rest. It's a tiring routine but essential if I want to achieve my goals.

My main focus for next year will be some of the minor international matches, but mainly the World Cups and hopefully Beijing!

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