Laetisha Scanlan set a new world record in women’s trap when she won gold at the ISSF World Cup last week in the UAE, where team mate Catherine Skinner backed up with the silver medal.
The win was Laetisha’s first in the World Cup, but her fifth consecutive victory in shooting this year. (See an interview with Laetisha below.)
She and Catherine, both 23, are now the first Australian women to take a 1-2 victory in trap, and they finished of Italy’s Olympic gold medallist Jessica Rossi, who was third.
Laetisha scored 102 from 105 targets to set the new record.
“I shot really well today and I was just confident about going into the finals,” she said. “Then I met such Olympic champions as Jessica Rossi, so it was a little bit intimidating, but I did my best and I made it to the gold.
“To be honest at the time I was not thinking about the world record as I was focussed on hitting as many targets as possible.”
“Records are there to be broken but for me I was just happy with the level I was shooting at across the competition.
The Australians pushed each other as they vied to the top spot
“I have a small break now but will then continue training hard ahead of the next Australia Cup in Perth,” Laetisha said.
“That is another Commonwealth Games selection event so it is important I keep up the same level of consistent shooting.”
“We have put a lot of hard work into developing a new crop of athletes and grooming them for success in Rio and beyond,” Australian International Shooting Limited CEO Damien Marangon said.
“Laetisha and Catherine are two of these athletes and at the age of 23 they have their whole careers still in front of them.
Michael Diamond scored 121 from 125, including three perfect 25s, in the lead-up to the men’s trap finals, but the intense competition left him in a seven-way shoot-off to qualify.
However, he was dropped from the shoot-off when he missed his third target.
Australia’s other three competitors in the men’s trap endured mixed fortunes in the 40-degree heat, with Michael McNabb shooting a total of 118, Adam Vella 117 and Joshua Collard a 104.
Keith Ferguson and Paul Adams contest the men’s skeet today and tomorrow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyeydTHVUYs
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