A Chinese massage and a good night's sleep set her on the
path to Olympic Games doom, shooter Nadine Stanton said today
after finishing 10th in the women's trap.
Stanton shoots better grumpy. She was cranky after she missed
three of her first six shots at the Beijing Shooting Range
today, but by then her chances were in tatters.
"I had a massage last night, I had a really good night's
sleep, I came out chirpy, perhaps I should have come out a
bit grumpier," she told NZPA.
"I was way too relaxed. I walked out smiling and relaxed to
the first round.
"In this game you have to be a little bit grumpy, you have to
have the mongrel in you and be ready to fight. When I got
grumpy, I started smashing targets."
Four years ago, Stanton was a finalist in the double trap at
the Athens Olympics, making the six-woman final after being
so nervous she didn't get to sleep until 2.30am.
Stanton, 32 -- forced to switch from her favoured double trap
when it was dropped from the Olympic programme -- landed 63
from 75 after a horror start fatally undermined her bid to
reach the six-woman final.
Three of her first six shots missed, then she hung her head
low when she opened her second series with two misses from
three shots.
After 25 shots of the 75-shot qualifier she languished 15th
of 20, climbed to 13th with 25 shots remaining, then opened
her final series with a miss.
She had set her sights on a place in the final, so was not
pleased about 10th.
"It was midfield, it was average and my score of 63 was
pretty crap, to be honest. Thankfully scores were down across
the board."
World record holder Zuzana Stefecekova of Slovakia qualified
top with 71, while 67 was needed to reach the final.
Stanton proved a real crowd pleaser with her vocal style --
her yell for the target to be released echoing across the
range to titters of delight.
The mostly Chinese crowd were urging on Yingzi Liu, who shot
in the same group of five as Stanton, but folded after
looking a chance for the final.
While the Chinese warmed to Stanton, they were not so happy
when Charlotte Kerwood of Great Britain mounted a charge,
greeting her misses with loud applause.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.