2004 Olympic bronze medallist Adam Vella continued his recent stranglehold on the Australia Cup series with a one target victory over Michael Diamond in the men’s trap final at Australia Cup 2 in Perth on Sunday.
Vella, whose form on home soil has seen him win seven of the last eight Australia Cups he has entered, was one of the many standout performers across the weekend as Australia’s leading shotgun athletes vied for selection for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Vella was one of five athletes who recorded a Performance Qualifying Score (PQS), with these scores a crucial component in the final make up of next year’s team for Glasgow.
The 41-year-old Victorian, who has already won three gold medals in as many Commonwealth Games campaigns, was in top form across the two days of the men’s trap competition, dropping only two targets in qualifying for a score of 123.
Vella then progressed through the semi-final to the gold medal match alongside dual Olympic gold medallist Diamond, and produced a fine display of single-barrel shooting to hit 14 targets from a possible 15 to clinch the title.
20-year-old Paul Adams recorded a new personal best in the men’s skeet qualifying before holding his nerve in the gold medal match to edge out London Olympian Keith Ferguson.
Adams (124) and Ferguson (123) both shot PQSs in qualifying, and after negotiating their way through to the final, Adams prevailed by two targets.
Laetisha Scanlan continued her excellent start to 2013 with her seventh straight win in women’s trap events, maintaining her unbeaten start to the season worldwide.
The diminutive 22-year-old won the gold medal match against Teegan McCloy, who had earlier qualified in the semi-finals in first place with a PQS of 70.
Earlier in the event Craig Trembath claimed victory in the men’s double trap, while Laura Coles shot a PQS on her way to winning the women’s skeet.
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