Review of Day 8

After a busy but incredibly successful day of double trap shooting on Day 7, Scotland's shotgun athletes were able to take a day off on Day 8 where the shooting programme was a little less hectic but Scotland's female rifle athletes were back in action, along with the full-bore shooters so there was still plenty to cheer for.

Jennifer competing in her third games finished in 8th

Seonaid won a fantastic Bronze in the Prone

Allowed the opportunity to sleep in a little longer on Day 8, Jennifer McIntosh and Seonaid McIntosh were back competing at 14.00 (05.00 GMT), 72 hours after competing in the 10m Air Rifle competition, as both looked to medal in the Women's 50m Prone Rifle Final. Fresh from her experience of making the final earlier in the Games, Seonaid was pushing to repeat or better her silver medal at the Commonwealth Championships held in Belmont back in November last year. However, she had the small matter of overcoming her sister, Jennifer, who won the Gold on that occasion and would be hoping to do the same again. Inspired by the success of team mate Neil Stirton, who won the silver medal in the Men's event 48 hours earlier they both took to the range at the Belmont Shooting Centre. They had a mixed start in the opening series with Jennifer scoring 99.5 while Seonaid posted a strong opening score of 102.1 but both came back strong in the second and third series with Jennifer scoring 103.1 and 104.0 while Seonaid scored 102.5 and 102.0. Both girls were really in the zone at this point with Seonaid scoring the highest series score posted by any athlete in the competition with 105.5 in the fourth series and Jennifer scoring 103.6. A slight drop in form in the fifth for Jennifer with a score of 99.3 meant she had her work cut out to medal but Seonaid remained consistent picking up 102.3 meaning going into the final round Seonaid was in the silver medal position. Some great final series scoring by all the athletes meant the final positions changed frequently. Jennifer regrouped well from the previous series and finished with a good score of 103.4 meaning she ended the competition on 612.9 finishing in 8th place. Seonaid kept her consistency posting a final series score of 103.7 for a strong final score of 618.1. In the final rounds she was battling it out with India's Tejaswini Sawant who just pipped Seonaid to the silver medal after a final round score of 104.6 that meant she finished 0.8 ahead of Seonaid on 618.9 but it meant Seonaid came away with a BRONZE MEDAL at her second Games, following in the footsteps of her mum and sister in being a Commonwealth Games medallist. A fantastic result for Seonaid who finished a massive 2.4 ahead of the 4th placed athlete on 615.7 to show just how dominant the top 3 had been. Well done too to Jennifer who showed some great form and will be looking at her final event tomorrow as a chance for leaving the games with a medal of her own. Seonaid's medal takes the number of shooting medals for Scotland at the games to 5 and 33 overall, third only behind swimming and cycling.

BRONZE MEDAL - WOMEN'S 50M PRONE RIFLE - SEONAID MCINTOSH

A good day at the full-bore range for Ian and Sandy who now get a day off after competing for 4 days straight

Sadly, Scotland's full-bore shooters of Ian Shaw and Sandy Walker had no such luxury of a rest day as both were back in action at 10.00 (01.00 GMT) on Day 2 of the Queens Prize Individual Finals shooting again competing at 300, 500 and 600 yards but this time it was 50 shots, rather than 35. This was the fourth straight day of competition for both men, having won the bronze medal in the Pairs over two days immediately prior to the start of individual competition with no rest in between. After Day 1, Ian was showing great form and after being tied at the top, had slipped slightly to 13th while Sandy was in 17th but both were still very much in contention. On Day 2 of the individual competition Ian was showing great form shooting scores of 50-7v, 50-7v and 50-4v over 300, 500 and 600 yards respectively meant that by the end of Day 2 Ian had jumped back up the table and was sitting in 5th on 254-29v but was in touching distance of a medal place with both 3rd and 4th place tied on 254-32v while second and first were slightly further ahead on 255-32v and 255-37v. Sandy also had a good day at the Belmont full-bore range moving up the table with scores of 50-6v, 50-7v and 49-2v. His overall score after the two days was 252-25v leaving him in 14th but within touching distance of a top 10 spot. Both Scots will be looking forward to day off from competition tomorrow and will come back Saturday for the final day where they finish by shooting rounds over 900 and 1000 yards. Enjoy a day off boys!

Ones to Watch in Day 9

A quieter Day 8 was only the calm before the storm of a busier schedule on Day 9 as STS's female rifle athletes compete for a second consecutive day and third competition overall. The Women's Skeet competition also finally gets underway after a long wait but those competing in the Queens Prize get a days rest after competing for four straight days out in the Australian sun. 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:

Sharon will be looking to emulate Linda's success in the Women's Skeet tomorrow

Having been awarded the opportunity to sleep in on Day 8, the rifle shooters were given a rude awakening with a much earlier start on Day 9 as Jennifer McIntosh and Seonaid McIntosh were straight back in action in the Women's 50m 3P Rifle Qualification at 08.30 (23.30 GMT on Thursday). In contrast to the Prone event, at the Commonwealth Championships held in Belmont back in November last year, it was Seonaid who would this time be looking to repeat her golden performance and win Gold and Jennifer will be looking to go one better from the silver she won at the Championships as both girls will be fighting it out for top spot on the podium.
A long wait for Scotland's Sharon Niven is finally over as the Women's Olympic Trap Qualification competition then gets underway at 09.00 (00.00 GMT). A stellar 2017 for Sharon including second places in qualification and the finals at both the Cyprus GP and Perazzi GP in Belgrade means Sharon will be coming into this event high on confidence. Sharon is quickly developing in the Olympic Trap programme and 2017 saw her really translate domestic success onto the international stage. Can she get a major international medal at her first Commonwealth Games?

There are high hopes for all these athletes as all will be looking to qualify for and contest in the final so it is worth noting the finals that will also be taking place on the day:

11.30 (02.30 GMT) for the Women's 50m 3P Rifle Final
15.55 (06.55 GMT) for the Women's Trap Final

As with every competition, 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 Jeff Holmes & Donald McIntosh