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position on the range or in one’s target order could mean a huge difference in conditions and ultimately score. With wind brackets of anywhere from 4 right to 12 left, the need to be patient and shoot in ‘known’ conditions was paramount, although even then the changes were so quick that one could easily get caught out whilst on aim. I witnessed one of the team get swept clean off the target in such circumstances!


Scoring was therefore generally lower than expected and no-one I knew cut a bull-five sighter at 800 yards, which most would have done in preceding championships. Paul Sykes got off to an excellent start, winning the Gold Medal for his outstanding 75.11 in the first 1000 yards shoot, and then a second Gold for the Stage 1 three range aggregate with a 224.23. David Luckman was just out of the medals in fourth and making a very fine defence of his title. At the ‘halfway’ stage after five ranges, GB had four in the top 11 places – Richard Jeens, David Luckman, Jane Messer and Nick Tremlett (poor Paul Sykes, like many others, got clobbered at 900 yards in Stage 2). We had further success in the last three shoots (Stage 3). James Lewis won Gold for his 75.6 at 900 yards – a fantastic shoot in difficult conditions – and Parag Patel made the best of an advantageous draw to win the Gold in the 1000 yards shoot with a 75.7 (the only full score on the range). Richard Jeens picked up the Bronze medal for his 73.7 at the same distance.


As we approached the last ranges in Stage 3, it was clear that the lead had changed hands several times. Going into the final 1000 yards shoot, 2003 Champion Sherri Gallagher from the USA was leading and seemed set to qualify for the ‘10 man’ final but copped a detail as difficult as any and fell out of the reckoning altogether. When the dust had settled, our own Jane Messer was the leader, three points clear of André du Toit of South Africa and David Luckman. Richard Jeens was fifth, a further point back. Rounding out the final were three Americans, another South African and two Australians; also notable was the fact that this final 10 included three women and a father and son combination (Johannes du Toit joining son André).


If


Sherri had had a bit more luck, she might well have made it a mother/daughter combination in the final as well. Nick Tremlett was the ‘best of the rest’ in eleventh place, just missing the final.


61


The 2011 Palma Match Australia


The winds for the final were moderate by recent standards but shifted rapidly in strength and angle. Most of the shooters shot fairly quickly, with David Luckman finishing first with a 70.3 and Richard Jeens a few minutes later with a very strong 73.4. Jane was more deliberate and unfortunately for her, fell just out of the medals into fourth. Nevertheless, she did not leave entirely empty handed as her strong shooting overall won her the Silver medal for the aggregate of the three 1000 yard ranges and her strong finish won her the Bronze medal for Stage 3.


When all the finalists had finished, Richard’s total was enough to secure the Gold as the World Individual Long Range Rifle Champion, a richly deserved success for a lot of hard work and some very consistent shooting, particularly during the mounting pressure as the competition progressed to its climax. David Luckman and South African André du Toit were tied two points behind and, in the ensuing tie shoot, the South African prevailed to take the Silver medal, leaving defending champion David with the Bronze in what had been an admirable defence of his title despite his obvious disappointment.


Richard Jeens was chaired into prize giving to the traditional music and the applause of the assembled company as the world’s best long range marksman.


The Palma Match


After enjoying Richard’s success, it was down to the serious business of winning the Team World Championship. Although expectations were high, the pressure was clearly on us as we were trying to become the first team in modern times to win the Palma Match for the third successive time.


Having made the difficult selection decisions around the 16 firers, we spent the practice day shooting as little as possible. Having performed all the tasks required, I gave the team the afternoon off to rest up and get prepared for the two days ahead.


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