Sydney 2019: Top vision impaired shooters set for history

Some of the top vision impaired (VI) shooters have descended on Sydney to be a part of history.

Come Saturday (12 October), they will be making their debut at the World Shooting Para Sport Championships.

After a busy day of equipment check, these vision impaired shooters were seen walking the same range as their SH1 and SH2 counterparts with whom they start their campaign.

Though this will be a heart-warming moment for these shooters, there are quite a few who have not left any stones unturned to make their presence felt straightaway.   

VIS (mixed 10m air rifle standing SH-VI)

Poland’s Barbara Moskal is the name to know. She has not only won gold at the inaugural VI World Cup event in July, but also set a new world record with 214.2 points.

That effort saw Moskal finish ahead of Spain's Ager Solabarrieta Txakartegi and Austria’s Patrick Moor, who took silver and bronze respectively. With Txakartegi staying away from Sydney 2019, Moor would probably be her toughest challenger for the top spot.

VIP (mixed 10m air rifle prone SH-VI)

Moskal’s compatriot Katarzyna Orzechowska will also try to give Poland a gold in the prone equivalent. She won the event at an International Competition in May in Hannover, Germany, and took third at July’s World Cup in Osijek, Croatia.

She will have to get past Norway’s Daniel Waloe and Great Britain’s Michael Whapples, who finished ahead of Orzechowska respectively.

The Sydney 2019 World Shooting Para Sport Championships run from 12-19 October. More information is available on the event website.