Are Australians recognized as world-class competitors in the sport of shooting?
A national Australian rifle team first competed in a shooting competition at Wimbledon in 1876, well before any national teams of Australian tennis players, cricketers or footballers. Shooting is a sport in which many Australians have achieved national and international success. At the 2004 Athens Olympics Suzie Balogh from NSW won the Gold Medal in Trap Shooting and Michael Vella from Victoria won Bronze. In Manchester in 2002, Australian target shooters won 31 of the 207 total medals won by Australia, exceeded only by Swimming with 50 medals and ahead of Athletics with 28. Training is now well under way for prospective members of the Australian Commonwealth Games Team 2006 Games in Melbourne next March.
