McAlpine Shooting for the Stars
12 Jan 2009
On arrival for his first day of training in Sydney ahead of the Australian Youth Olympic Festival Scottish rifle shooter Rory McAlpine (Edinburgh) was impressed with the competition venue, “The range is probably the best range I’ve ever been to, it’s crazy all the different disciplines in a line, it’s an amazing experience shooting here.”
Jet lag can be a major issue for shooters who require great levels of concentration and focus during their events, “You can’t still be tired from the trip as otherwise your concentration will fail and you’ll shoot really badly during your match. It could be muscle fatigue as well, if you’ve been sat on a plane for hours not moving, then it’s quite hard when you try to hold your rifle in position for an hour or more.”
McAlpine explained that shooters require a certain level of physical talent to complement the shooting skills, “We mostly do core stability to improve balance, holding the rifle in position for an hour is tough so you have to keep fit.”
He first took up shooting at the age of 12 following an advert to join his school club, “I went along and enjoyed it and found out I was quite good! I improved a little bit and represented Scotland under-21’s, now I go to international competitions all over the world. Although Australia is the furthest I’ve been to compete.
“I train at school as there’s a rifle range there, usually two or three times per week. The rest I do at home, dry-firing without real bullets.”
Along with the rest of his teammates McAlpine visited the Sydney 2000 Olympic Stadium, “It was amazing to see the different venues. We saw what used to be the torch where there is now a plaque with names of all the medal winners; it was inspiring to find British shooter Richard Faulds listed as a gold medal winner.”
Looking ahead to his future Olympic ambitions, McAlpine is pragmatic, “London 2012 would be incredible but there’s a lot of great British shooters at the moment so 2016 could be a more realistic ambition. Here at the AYOF I aim to keep consistent, do my best and see what happens. It’s an amazing experience just to be here.”
For further information including athlete interviews please contact Becki Middleton in Sydney on 00 61 44927962 or Philip Wilkinson on 00 61 424 229971.
You will be able keep up to date with the latest news and results from Australia on the BOA website: http://www.olympics.org.uk/ayof09/home.aspx
For free images of Team GB athletes at the AYOF take a look at: http://smartset.com.au/teamGB/