Best shot of the day

Namibia’s Olympic Trap shooter Gaby Ahrens clinched the silver medal at the first national trails of the year which took place at the Luiperdsvalley military base shooting range south of Windhoek last Saturday. The opening trials were one of five, which are spread out throughout the year. All Namibians have to shoot a minimum qualification score (MQS) at three of the events to be able to represent their country at international competitions.

The 33-year-old Commonwealth bronze medal winner of 2010 was the only women to compete. The female shooters have three rounds of 25 targets to reach their MQS, while the men shoot five. During the qualification shoot, Ahrens hit 64 of the possible 75 targets, reaching the MQS and advancing to the finals.
While Ahrens achieved her goal, it was Gielie van Wyk who took the headlines. The former Namibian champion was on target with 118 of 125 shots. A world class mark and only one shot short of the Namibian record. Etienne Jooste scored 110/125 to be the third participant of the day to make to the MQS.
During the semi-final, however, it was Ahrens that showed her full potential when she didn’t miss a single clay pigeon. Van Wyk missed one, setting up the gold medal-match with Ahrens.
Here Ahrens shot well again, but van Wyk was just in a class of his own to edge out Ahrens with 13/15 to 11/15 to take home the gold medal. The third place went to Jooste. Sven Ahrens made fourth place. “I am very happy with the tournament. I reached my goal of getting the minimum qualifying score and the silver medal is obviously nice as well. At the same time I must congratulate Gielie van Wyk on his exceptional performance. He has deserved to win”, Ahrens said.