1st medal

Stuff reports:

Kiwi shooter Natalie Rooney has won New Zealand’s first medal medal at the Rio Olympics after claiming silver in the women’s trap event.

The Timaru 28-year-old beat American Corey Cogdell in a shoot-off to reach the gold medal match against Australia’s Catherine Skinner.

Despite getting off to a flying start in the final, she couldn’t maintain the momentum, missing four of her 15 attempts as the Australian won the final – and the gold medal – 12-11.

So close, but still great effort to get the silver medal.

While she may have missed out on gold, it is New Zealand’s greatest Olympic shooting result, with the only previous medal a bronze won by 50m prone rifle shooter Ian Ballinger at the 1968 Mexico City Games. …

Rooney trains in Europe up to three months at a time and has not received any official funding.

“Obviously my Dad has paid a fair bit of money for my shooting.

“This is a big thanks to him.”

A true amateur.