SHOOTING: Glasgow Commonwealth Games skeet champion Laura Coles (Hocking, WA) has narrowly missed out on a bronze medal at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Al Ain, UAE.

Competing in her first ever ISSF World Cup semi-final at a World Cup, the 27-year-old exercise physiologist shot 71/75 targets, recording 23-25-23 across three rounds of qualification, to go into the semi-final in third place, amidst a line-up of the best in the world.

In a hotly contested qualification, triple Olympic gold medallist Kimberly Rhode (USA), who was tipped to be a favourite, was edged out of the final line-up in a shoot-off against Italy’s Olympic champion Chiara Cainero.

Coles shot 11 targets in the semi-final to secure a spot in the bronze medal match against Italy’s Katiuscia Spada, who proved too strong, winning the medal by five targets.

The gold and silver medals were won by Italians Diana Bacosi and Chiara Cainero respectively.

Coles rose to international fame last year, after winning the first of six gold medals for Shooting at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. She has not looked back since.

Introduced to the sport by her grandfather, Coles first tried shooting when she was just 15 at her local club.

The petite Western Australian has trained very hard to get to a world-class level and often credits veteran shooter Michael Diamond for being an inspiration in the sport.

Shooting Australia CEO Damien Marangon said that it was great to see the Commonwealth Games champion shine on the world stage.

“What an outstanding performance by Laura. It is great to see the Commonwealth Games champion show that she belongs on the world stage and can mix it with the world’s best.”

“This performance is a great launching pad for Laura in her first World Cup of the year and sets her up strongly for a campaign aimed at producing for Australia in Rio,” Marangon said.

SHOOTING AUSTRALIA