about a year ago

An 18-strong squad of British shooters travelled to the IPC Shooting World Cup, which took place in Szczecin, Poland, from April 10 to16; facing stiff competition from 139 athletes from 23 nations including France, Russia, Germany and Poland.

Head Coach and Team Manager, Pasan Kularatne, said: “This is the first world cup of this season and one of only two ahead of the Paralympic team selection in May.

"We decided to use this competition to give the opportunity to all shooters with the potential to be selected for London 2012 to prove themselves. We subsequently took our biggest ever squad to the event, with 18 athletes representing GB.”Pasan Kularatne

“I am really pleased with the performances of the British Team and appreciate the effort made by all shooters and staff.”

Kent Paralympian Nathan Milgate led the British performances, winning gold in the R1 10m Air Rifle Standing Men’s SH1, beating British team-mate Matt Skelhon into second place. Milgate shot 589 to go into the finals in first place, before shooting 102.4.8 in the finals to take the top podium spot. Skelhon shot 584 in the qualification rounds before registering 102.8 in the finals to win silver. Bronze went to Germany’s Norbert Gau, with a score of 583 and 101.3.
 
Skelhon followed up this performance with a second silver medal, this time in the R3 10m Air Rifle Prone Mixed SH1. He shot 599 in the qualification round to into the finals level with gold medal winner Waldemar Andruszkiewicz of Poland. Andruszkiewicz scored 105.1 in the final to take gold with a total score of 704.1 just ahead of Skelhon, who scored 104.6 in the finals (total 703.6). Bronze was won by Radoslav Malenovsky of Slovakia who shot 703.5 (599 and 104.5). Britain’s Nathan Milgate, Lorraine Lambert, Deanna Coates and Lesley Baldwin also competed, finishing 5th, 25th, 26th and 33rd respectively in the individual contest. The British team of Skelhon, Milgate and Coates then combined to win team bronze, behind Slovakia with gold and Poland with silver.
 
Hampshire Paralympian Deanna Coates won bronze for Britain in the R2 10m Air Rifle Standing Women’s SH1. She shot 386 in the qualification round before shooting 99.8 in the finals to finish third behind Pervin Ayli of Turkey with gold (388 and 100.9) and Anja Maurer of Germany with silver (384 and 104). Her British team-mates Karen Butler, Mandy Pankhurst, Lorraine Lambert and Lesley Baldwin also competed and finished 8th, 9th, 12th and 14th respectively.  
   
There was another bronze for Britain in the R4 10m Air Rifle Standing Mixed SH2, with Adam Fontain finishing 3rd. He shot 597 in the qualification round and 104.8 in the finals to register a total score of 701.8. France’s Tanguy de la Forest won gold beating his team-mate Raphael Voltz  in a shot-off in the final after they had both score 599 and 104.2 to finish level. Forest shot 10.8 in the shot-off, beating Voltz, with 10.1, to top spot. Britain’s Richard Davies and James Bevis just missed out on the medals; finishing 5th and 8th, while Ryan Cockbill, Robert Mcleary and Georgina Callingham, finished 10th, 15th and 16th.
 
France’s Voltz came back from missing gold, by taking top spot in the R5 10m Air Rifle Prone SH2, registering a total score of 704.8 (600 and 104.9). Britain’s James Bevis finished 5th (599 and 104.2), Ryan Cockbill finished 7th (599 and 103.7) and Georgina Callingham finished 8th (599 and 92.7). Richard Davies, Sarah Woods and Adam Fontain finished 10th, 11th and 12th respectively.
 
There were more medals for Britain in the falling target competitions. In the FTR 1 - Falling Target Rifle mixed SH1 competition, Britain’s Lorraine Lambert took the bronze, behind Ukraine’s Iuri Stoiey in gold and Slovakia’s Veronika Vadovicova who won silver. While in the FTR 2 Falling Target Rifle Mixed SH2 there was a British two and three, with silver and bronze going to Adam Fontain and Georgina Callingham. Vasyl Kovalchuk of Ukraine won gold.
 
In the pistol competitions, GB’s Adrian Bunclark finished 25th in P1 10m Air Pistol Men, while Britain’s Pam Grainger, Ann Wild and Jean Guild finished 9th, 13th and 15th in the P2 10m Air Pistol Women.
 
The full squad for the event comprised Matt Skelhon, Nathan Milgate, Deanna Coates, Karen Butler, James Bevis, Adam Fontain, Geogina Callingham, Ryan Cockbill, Rob Mcleary, Richard Davies, Sarah Woods, Robert Mcleary, Pam Grainger, Ann Wild, Jean Guild, Adrian Bunclark, Lorraine Lambert and Lesley Baldwin.
 
The squad was supported by Team Manager and Head Coach Pasan Kularatne, Performance Rifle Coach Robin Taylor, Rifle Coaches Andrea Zakor and Louise Minett, Pistol Coach Vladimir Filimonov and Kapila De Alwis, Psychologist Jonathan Katz, Phyiotherapist Joanne Hipkiss and support staff Albert Cockbill, Carl Edward and Nick Badger.