Shooter tops in training
Had Martin Hunt repeated his training shoot at the Commonwealth Games, he might have won the gold medal at Carnoustie by 31⁄ points.
The Palmerston North research associate had shot a score of 628 in training for the rifle prone event, only to shoot 615.4 on the day in Scotland, three points away from qualifying for the top eight shootoff.
Going into the match he had been confident.
On the big day he had been been tracking well two-thirds of the way to his 60 shots, was second at one point and then sixth.
However, an imperceptible wind shift during five shots shifted him down the standings to 13th of the 40 shooters in the 50-metre shoot.
‘‘Something obviously changed,’’ he said. ‘‘I thought I was shooting in the same wind. Instead it shifted me out to eight o’clock.
‘‘I don’t think I would do anything differently next time. I didn’t have any nerves whatsoever, nothing shaking the rifle. It was a wonderful experience if a bit of a disappointing result. ‘‘
His extensive mental training beforehand with coach Eddie Adlam, Palmerston North sports psychologist Gary Hermansson and shooting legends Greg Yelavich and Steve Petterson made it easier to compete at that level.
Hunt got to Carnoustie early, shot up to 100 shots every day in training.
Once October rolls around he will start qualifying for next year’s Oceania championships in Sydney. And in January the Olympic Games trials start.
Hunt got a thrill out of being part of the opening ceremony and hearing ‘‘New Zealand’’ called out, the shooters sneaking up behind flagbearer Valerie Adams. At their hotel there was heavy security, about 100 police, a third of them brandishing submachine guns, and as many security guards.
Builders were finishing off the shooting range when they got there, right on the famous Carnoustie golf links. ‘‘We would sit at the breakfast bar watching people hitting off the No 1 tee. We could walk to the range about 20 minutes through the golf course; it was so peaceful and relaxing.’’
Chef de Mission Rob Waddell came up from Glasgow and stayed with the shooting team for a night.
At the next Games on the Gold Coast there will also be pairs in Hunt’s event. But of huge concern to the shooters is that the 2022 host contenders, Durban (South Africa) and Edmonton (Canada), are not likely to have any shooting at the Games.