Shooting Para sport athletes Michael Johnson and Natalie Brunzel, both of Auckland, competed today in the R4 10m air rifle standing event at the World Shooting Para Sport (WSPS) World Championships. Five-time Paralympian Johnson placed 17th and Brunzel placed 39th out of a field of over 50 Para athletes in the SH2 sports class.
Brunzel, who last competed internationally in the 2019 World Championships, was pleased with her performance, in which she scored 621.4.
“My first international back, it went really well. I learned a lot and I’m happy with it.”
Competition is now complete for Brunzel, who returns home tomorrow.
Johnson was less pleased with his score of 628.3, which he describes as “a tough day at the office. The Waiuku-based Paralympian who has paraplegia following a spinal cord injury explains:
“I finished not where I would’ve wanted. So, I was a bit disappointed with that. It started off a bit rough and I guess there was an indicator for how the rest of the match was gonna go, but I just stayed focused, and I just tried to work the problem.”
However, Johnson is excited for the rest of the World Championships:
“I’ve got two more matches coming up. I’ve got the R9, and then following that is the R5. So it’s back to the grindstone.”
The R9 Mixed 50m rifle prone SH2 event takes place tomorrow at 13.30 local time.
