Review of Day 5
On Day 5 the shooting programme was in full flow and the Scots were in the thick of the action.
Aedan in action in the Men's 10m Air Pistol Qualification round
First up at 09.00 (midnight GMT) was Aedan Evans is the Men's 10m Air Pistol Qualification, competing at his first Commonwealth Games after what has been a fantastic 12 months that has seen him rise through the ranks, including a 7th place in the Final of the World U21 Championships in Germany last year. Aedan put in an excellent performance for someone competing in his first games, showing maturity well beyond his years finishing 12 with a score of 559-12x, agonisingly only 5 away from qualification for the final but still an excellent showing at his first games.
Jennifer & Seonaid in action in the Qualification round of the Women's 10m Air Rifle event (left to right)
Next up at 11.00 (02.00 GMT on Monday) was Jennifer and Seonaid McIntosh with Jennifer looking to add to her medal haul from the previous 3 Games and Seonaid looking to get off the mark in the Women's 10m Air Rifle. Stronger in the 50m events, both girls still have good form in the 10m Air Rifle category and this showed as they stayed in contention of a strong scoring field throughout qualification. The strength of the field was demonstrated by the overall top qualifier, India's Apurvi Chandela, smashing her previous Games record of 415.6 set in Glasgow with a qualifying score of 423.2, setting the benchmark for everyone else to follow. The qualification places frequently changed and Seonaid McIntosh put in a strong performance to qualify for the final with a score of 410.4. Jennifer had an agonising wait, finishing with a score of 409.4, she was sitting in 8th place but had to wait for Sian Corish from Wales to shoot the final shot of qualification sitting on 399.5. Sian finished with a 10.1 edging Jennifer into 9th, just missing out on the final by 0.2. Congratulations to both girls but to Seonaid in particular who marched into the final, scheduled for 13.30 (04.30 GMT).
Ian and Sandy down at the Full-bore Range in Belmont
In an amazing final, Seonaid got off to a flying and after the first 5 shots had 51.5 putting her in Bronze medal position, 0.1 behind silver and 0.3 off the Gold. The following 5 was equally as strong recording a score of 102.8 meaning that going into the Elimination round she was tied with second and 0.9 behind the Gold medal spot. After the first elimination round Seonaid kept her nerve and was in the Bronze medal placing, 0.5 ahead of 4th and 0.4 behind silver. The next elimination round was similarly strong as she held on to the Bronze, 0.2 ahead of 4th and 0.3 behind silver still. Again Seonaid held her nerve and after the next round was 0.5 behind silver and 0.4 ahead of 4th. A massively tense elimination round saw Seonaid drop to joint 4th with her next shot and then fall to 5th with the second seeing her eliminated from the final but it was an outstanding performance and with the 50m events still to come, she'll be back but for now, well done Seonaid for a great 10m performance!
Last up were Sandy Walker and Ian Shaw, competing from 10.00 (01.00 GMT) in the second and final day of the Queens Prize Pairs Final. A fantastic performance by both men meant that after the 300 and 500 distances, the Scottish pair were placed joint 5th with Northern Ireland on 199-20v in an incredibly close competition with 4th placed England on 199-26v, 3rd placed South Africa on 199-27v, 2nd placed Wales on 200-18v and 1st placed Australia on 200-24v. With nothing to separate the teams they went on to compete at 600 to close the day and this distance saw some movements in the field. England jumped from 4th to 1st on 299-35v, South Africa went from 3rd to 2nd with 299-37v, Australia dropped from 1st to 3rd with 299-35v and Scotland climbed from joint 5th to outright 4th with 298-31v, just ahead of Northern Ireland on 298-30v. With Scotland shooters traditionally stronger as the distances increase, Sandy and Ian look well placed after an excellent performance on Day 1 which they will look to capitalise on when the move on to compete at 900 and 1000 yards on Day 2 to determine who the medallists will be. It's all to play for and Scotland are looking strong!
Ones to Watch in Day 6
Day 6 of the 2018 Games continues the intensity of Day 5 with Scotland's shooters continuing to compete across a number of events. In each case below please note the time stated in the Australian time but we have provided the British time too for setting your watch:
Lenny and Neil ready to compete on Day 6
- First up at 09.00 (midnight GMT) is the Men's 50m Prone Rifle Qualification where STS's Neil Stirton and Leonard (Lenny) Thomson will be competing. For Lenny, this is his first Commonwealth Games and he has shown great determination in qualifying for the team but he isn't just there to make up the numbers, Lenny will be eyeing a place in the final. For Neil, this will be his fourth Commonwealth Games having also competed in Melbourne, Delhi and Glasgow. A seasoned competitor and strong in both Prone and 3P, Neil has shown good consistency in qualifying for the Games and will certainly be looking to the final with one eye on a podium finish.
- Also at 09.00 (midnight GMT) Jessica Liddon competes in her second event of the 2018 Games looking to build on her 12th place result 48 hours earlier in the Women's 10m Air Pistol event when she competes in the Women's 25m Pistol Qualification, traditionally her stronger event.
- Finally, at 10.00 (01.00 GMT on Tuesday) Scotland's full-bore pairing of Ian Shaw and Alexander (Sandy) Walker will be entering the second and final day of the Queens Prize Pairs Final. Ranked 4th at the end of Day 1 and with little to split the top 5 places, Ian and Sandy will be looking to at least emulate, if not better, their success at the CSF Championships At Belmont in November last year where they came away with the Bronze medal as they look to stamp their authority on the 900 and 1000 yard stages of the event.
Jessica Liddon competes in her second competition on Day 6
Day 5 showed that finals are definitely up for grabs and with the strength of the Scottish shooters you can't rule it out so it is worth noting the finals for their events are scheduled to take place on the same day at the following times:
- 13.00 (04.00 GMT on Tuesday) for the Men's 50m Prone Rifle Finals
- 15.30 (06.30 GMT on Tuesday) for the Women's 25m Pistol Finals
Once again, we wish all STS athletes all the best and in the blazing sun at Belmont Shooting Ground tomorrow!
Although we compete in and have a particular fondness for different disciplines, we are one brilliant sport and one great country. Show your support by using the hashtag #TeamSTS
Report by Oliver Barsby, Photos credited to Donald McIntosh