By Allan Ritchie
Back to reality with a bump. It’s 4c and lashing down with rain, a stark contrast to the 30-36C I’ve “enjoyed” for the last week in Al-Ain, UAE, where the inaugural World Shooting Para Sport Para Trap 2018 World Cup has just been held at the Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club.
I’ve had a great time in the company of some truly exceptional individuals competing in rifle, pistol and shotgun competition. A great time had with the GB rifle and pistol squad and staff members; thank you for your help, support and welcome.
The Al Ain shooting ground is exceptional, a great range with a fresh green carpet of grass awaiting you each morning after the previous days clays were removed. The range staff were efficient and lent assistance in every way they could, so my thanks to them for running a near perfect competition.
The GB Para Trap squad performed well. Congratulations to Keith White who secured his MQS in his first major international competition. Michael Drever shot exceptionally well in training. This followed through the qualification rounds to secure Bib #2 for the final. Unfortunately, in Olympic Trap, Bib number is no guarantee of a medal and Mike was cruelly pipped at the post, finishing fourth. This is still a fantastic achievement so congratulations Mike.
I had a great time during free and pre-event training; shooting OT with mates from around the world, it doesn’t get much better! Solid rounds of 20, 20 and 24 (64/75) saw me ranked #1 at the end of day one, sharing the score with Australia’s Scottie Brydon.
Sunday, day two qualification: two more solid rounds of 24 and 22 gave a final qualification score of 110/125. Scottie shot exactly the same also giving him 110/125, meaning we jointly set and hold the new World Record for qualification (well done mate!).
A shoot off ensued for Bib #1 and 2 in the final, which I managed to sneak with a 2-1. From my perspective, not sure about the folks watching, a very tense final was shot with the lead bouncing backwards and forwards through the six-man field. I started pretty poorly and had to dig deep to get back into the competition to have any chance at a medal position, thankfully, training and process kicked in and I managed to secure the Gold medal with Scottie taking Silver and Oreste Lai taking Bronze.
I’m incredibly proud to represent Great Britain. To secure a Gold Medal at a World Cup, setting a World and European Record for the GB team, is something I never thought I would have the opportunity to do after my Spinal Cord Injury. It just shows, you should never give up, you don’t know what’s around the corner.
And now, for the Oscars part. Many thanks to the following people and organisations who have helped me get here:
My far better half, Izzy Ritchie, I could not do this without your support (and, more importantly, your approval)
Julian Coupland
Lewis Reed WAV Ltd
Cyclone Mobility – Stuart Dunne & Mark Eccleston
Scottish Target Shooting
Marco Micheli
Grampian Disability Sport
Scottish Disability Sport
Sportscotland
Anglo Italian-Arms
If you, or anyone you know, lives in Grampian with a physical, sensory or learning disability and is keen to get involved in Para Sport, please contact Alison Shaw on alison.shaw@scottishdisabilitysport.com or on 07828 744 848.