By JARROD POTTER
EVEN though her time in Peru wasn’t as successful as she would have hoped, shotgun shooter Laetisha Scanlan will remember her time at the International Shooting Sport Federation’s (ISSF) World Shotgun Championships vividly.
Scanlan, 23, from Berwick, was part of the women’s trap team, with Suzy Balogh and Catherine Skinner, that won a bronze medal in the team’s category – edged out by one shot to second place Russia and four shots behind gold medallists Italy.
She shot 24 in her first qualifying round, only narrowly missing her second last target, 21 and 21 to finish the competition with a 66 to place Scanlan 18th – outside of the top six that advanced to the semi-final round.
“I was probably a little disappointed with my individual finish,” Scanlan said.
“It was a bit different, as with the world champs they shot it over two days while our events are usually over one, so it throws a different dimension to it.”
The meet also stands out to Scanlan as she had to postpone her flight home… she was admitted to hospital with suspected appendicitis.
“It was different – it was an eye-opener. I’ve only been to South America once (and) that was in Chile,” Scanlan said.
“I didn’t even make the plane home, because I was sick and had to be admitted to hospital.
“They thought it was appendicitis, but it turns out it might’ve been a virus or something – so I’m not looking forward to going back to Peru any time soon!”
Her itinerary remains hectic – with the 2013 World Cup Shotgun Final held in Abu Dhabi, UAE in two weeks.
Following that, Scanlan will head to the Australian Youth Nationals and Oceania Championships held in Sydney just before the New Year.
