29 August 2021
Jeffery delighted to reach final on the shooting range
ParalympicsGB shooter Tim Jeffery finished eighth in the R4 mixed 10m air rifle standing SH2 event to cap the day’s action at the Asaka Shooting Range.
Jeffery was the first athlete eliminated in the second competition stage, after amassing 104.0 in the first stage and then 9.9 and 10.2 points in the first round of the elimination for a total of 124.1.
Sweden’s Philip Jonsson set a new Paralympic record of 252.8 to win gold while Slovakia’s Francek Tirsek picked up silver and Italy’s Andrea Liverani bronze.
Earlier, the University of Nottingham scholar impressed with a seventh-place finish in the qualification stages with a total of 631.5, finishing 3.8 points behind Liverani.
Tim Jeffery was delighted with his performance to reach the final in his first event of the Games
Jeffery said: “I am ecstatic to have made the final. I haven’t done this event before, so to get to the final, I am very happy, and it sets me up well for my other events.
“I shall take a deep breath after today, but I can’t get wait to get back out there now and see what I can do.”
Jeffery’s ParalympicsGB teammate Ryan Cockbill recovered from a frustrating start to finish tenth in qualification, meaning he didn’t progress to the final.
A poor opening series total of 103.9 cost Cockbill, who was outstanding from there on out but couldn’t recover and missed out on qualification for the final by 2.3 points.
Ryan Cockbill finished tenth in qualification
Cockbill said: “There are some great shooters out there, so I knew it would be tough, but I really thought I’d got a chance today.
“I need to make sure I get off quicker in my next event. The support I have had over the last two years has been immense, and I can’t thank everyone enough for what they have done to get me here.”
Earlier in the day, Lorraine Lambert and Lesley Stewart exited the R2 women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event at the qualification stage.
Lambert, who came fifth in the women’s 50m (3 positions) SH1 in Rio, finished 20th with a total of 608.3, while Stewart – a former military police officer who was a late call-up for Tokyo after winning bronze at the WSPS World Cup in Lima – came 18th with 610.8.
Lorraine Lambert is competing at her second Paralympic Games
Lambert said: “It is my second Paralympics, and I am so thrilled to be here. It is, of course, different, but it has been amazing so far, and the Japanese people have been brilliant.
“The air rifle isn’t my prime event, and I have only been able to train on and off through the pandemic, so I felt it went well.”
And Stewart reflected: “I think today was a hard battle, it did seem very hard in there.
“However, I am very proud of what I have done today because it is my first Games, and I have come back from severe injury, so the only way forward is up.”
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