BOOKAAR shooters Andrew and Penny Smith have added four more medals to their growing collection.
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The siblings scooped three gold and one silver at two Australian International Shooting Limited events in Sydney — the Oceania championships and the youth nationals.
Andrew collected the men’s overall double trap gold at the Oceania championships, which finished on November 30, and backed it up with a second gold in the 21-25 year old double trap at the youth nationals, which culminated on Sunday.
Penny won silver in the junior women’s trap at the Oceania tournament and bettered that with gold in the 17-20 year old junior girls’ trap at the youth nationals.
Andrew said his Oceania win was a surprise.
“I made the final and I didn’t expect to go as well as I did but at the end of the day I came out on top,” he said.
“I shot 119/150 in the double trap which wasn’t good but it was enough to get into the final. In the first round of the final I shot 25/30 and got into the gold-silver shoot-off and shot 26/30.
“For double trap that is probably my highest achievement.”
Andrew hit 124 out of 150 targets at the youth nationals to claim another gold.
The Terang electrical apprentice said he was pleased with his form at both competitions but wanted to improve further.
“All round it was pretty consistent but I definitely need to improve my scores,” he said.
“I’d like to be pushing the 135 mark at least but that all comes with practice and experience.”
Penny was locked in a battle with friend — New South Wales competitor Teegan McCloy — at both tournaments.
Teegan survived a sudden-death shoot-off to claim gold at Oceania, while Penny turned the tables at the youth nationals.
“It was pretty intense. It’s single-barrel, so one target at a time, and if you miss you’re out,” Penny said of the shoot-off.
“I got an opportunity to win because the girl I was in the shoot-off with missed her fourth target.
“(But) I missed my fourth and missed my fifth target.”
Penny shot 66/75, plus the sudden-death shoot-off.
She shot the same total at the youth nationals.
“It was good to shoot at two competitions with two consistent scores,” she said.
Penny, who wants to represent Australia at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, said she would take a short break before the Australian Clay Target Association national championships in Perth in January.