TWO shots – that is all that separated Ben Emms from a Commonwealth Games medal in the Queen’s Prize Pairs event on Tuesday.
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The Lyndhurst Rifle Club member and his Australian team-mate Jim Bailey placed sixth in the two-day event at Brisbane’s Belmont Full Bore Range with a score of 580 and 54v (centre bulls).
English duo Parag Patel and David Luckman claimed gold (584, 61v), Welsh duo Chris Wilson and Gareth Morris (582, 58v) were second while the bronze medals belonged to Scotland’s Alexander Walker and Ian Shaw (582, 49v).
Emms, who is making his Games debut, joined Bailey as one of 16 pairs vying for glory in the event that saw shooters face four ranges of increasing distance.
Emms and Bailey made an impressive start to their bid on Monday, ranking third after the 300, 500 and 600 ranges.
So close was the competition that it took a V count to separate the top three as England, South Africa and Australia all shot 299.
England (39v) held top spot, with South Africans Peterus Haasbroek and Jacobus (37v) and the Australians (35v) close behind.
Emms scored a perfect 50 for each of those ranges and was responsible half of Australia’s V count.
On Tuesday morning as the shooters returned for the 900 and 1000 yard ranges, there was a shuffling of the rankings.
The Welsh pair rocketed into the lead with their 147 14-v effort on the 990 yard range, South Africa moved into second, with England third and Emms and Bailey fourth.
The Australian pair trailed England by 4vs as they lined up for the final range. However, the pair were unable to climb the tightly packed leaderboard.
Emms gets another chance to medal in the Queen’s Prize individual event.
Palmer impresses
FORMER Bathurst City squash champion David Palmer impressed as he and team-mate Zac Alexander cruised to victory in their opening men’s doubles match.
Having come out of retirement to represent his country on home soil, Palmer and Alexander took 16 minutes to down Cayman Island duo Jacob Kelly and Alexander Frazer 11-6, 11-3.
Fifth seeds Palmer and Alexander will play the Jamaica team on Wednesday.
A silver swim
LESS than a year ago Jessica Ashwood was questioning if she was physically and mentally up to the challenge of swimming for Australia.
But on Monday night at Optus Aquatic Centre there were no questions as the granddaughter of Bathurst's first female mayor, Ann Ashwood, swam her way to a Commonwealth Games silver medal.
She was part of an Australian podium one-two-three in the women’s 800 metres freestyle event, the 24 year-old finishing runner-up to Ariarne Titmus with Kiah Melverton third.
“I’m very glad I did [come back to swimming,” Ashwood said after her swim.
“Four years ago I had a horrible Com Games and I never really let that go, so to be able come here and get a medal, I’m just absolutely stoked with it.”
Ashwood, who placed sixth in the 800m at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games four years earlier, qualified for the Gold Coast final by winning her heat in a time of eight minutes, 29.30 seconds.
It saw her go from lane four in the decider and she made a good start, being 0.61 seconds down on Titmus after her first 50m.
She dropped backed to third at the 200m mark, but then picked things up to be back in position two at the halfway mark, 2.40s down on Titmus.
While her fellow Australian kicked and went on to an impressive victory in 8:20.02, Ashwood was solid in claiming the silver in 8:27.60.