Shooting: Corrigan distraught after debut

Air pistol shooter Tania Corrigan had to be consoled after a "rotten" Olympic Games debut yesterday.

Corrigan, 34, shot 366 from a possible 400 to place 39th equal in a field of 45 for the 10m shoot. Her best, 382, would have been good for ninth, one point outside the eight-woman final.

China's Luna Tao claimed the gold from Jasna Sekaric of Yugoslavia, the Olympic champion at the 1988 Games. Australian Annemarie Forder, who beat Corrigan to the gold at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, won bronze.

Corrigan had to be consoled afterwards by shooting manager Ian Pottinger.

"I've had a rotten day. I just couldn't get into the groove," she said. She had felt good during her sighting shots, but could not get it together during the competition.

Corrigan, who competed with silver ferns painted on each fingernail, still has the 25m pistol on Friday.

Her performance concluded a bleak New Zealand weekend at the shooting centre, with trap shooters Victor Shaw and Brant Woodward both finishing in the bottom five.

Shaw, 32nd equal of 41 marksmen after Saturday's first two qualification rounds, finished 38th.

Woodward, 38, improved from third-last to fifth-last by shooting 46 of a possible 50 yesterday to end on 105. His best is 122; Shaw's is 120.

Australian Michael Diamond had fans in the makeshift grandstands waving green and gold when he shot two perfect rounds, then a perfect final to easily win the gold.

Diamond, who qualified with 122 out of 125, beat Briton Ian Peel. Giovanni Pellielo of Italy was third.

Despite his performance, Diamond said the range, with orange clay targets against a yellow-brownish background, was the worst he had encountered.

- NZPA