PART OF LIFE

A professional shooter now, Maroney said shooting had become part of his life.

Although he never mentioned it, others could see the desire of the Paralympic debutant for a medal so as to prove himself.

"In competitions, you always want to have good scores. It was a test of the ability," he said, "even if you get a silver, you want a gold."

In the competition of mixed 10-meter air rifle prone SH2, the marksman collected 599 points, after three other finalists who achieved 600.

In the ten-shot final, Maroney managed to hold his nerves in the first five shots by scoring 10.6, 10.6, 10.4, 10.5 and 10.7. Before the sixth shot, he was ranked fourth with just 0.1 point behind the third-placer and 0.2 from the second.

The man who admitted being nervous in the final believed the sixth shot a sheer nightmare.

"I have already felt something wrong with the way the handle pressing on me," he said.

But his finger moved quickly than his sense. The trigger was clicked. A 9.9, which dragged him to the sixth.

Although he later regained sharpness, with the lowest one of the last four shot still at 10.4, it was hard to turn the scale.

"It was just not my day," he said in regret.

However, 24 hours after the event, the shooter decided to forget it and start from zero.

"I have a way to relax myself," he said, adding that before last competition, he listened to pop music and rocked to the rhythm.

Maroney's next competition, mixed 10-meter air rifle stand, is scheduled for Thursday. Hopefully this time, he could have the luck.

NEVER STOP

An idealistic Pisces, the shooter said a latest movie he liked was Ned Kelly.

The controversial figure was an Australian bushranger, and, to some, a folk hero for his defiance of the colonial authorities.

Rebellion and unyieldingness might be something the hero and the shooter shared in common.

Holding a pen with his right hand, with the arm apparently stiffened after the accident, Maroney drew a picture, in which a shooter aimed on the wheelchair.

"I will never stop shooting," he said.

In the Australian Paralympic team there was a 66-year-old veteran shooter, who was a ten-time Paralympian with nine gold medals.

Maroney said jokingly that he was the body guard of the elderly lady, who, he noted seriously, inspired him a lot.

"I will also compete in as many Paralympics as I can," he said firmly.

(Xinhua News Agecny September 10, 2008)