Shooting: Inexperience costly for Borrell

New Zealand's Olympic shooting woes continued yesterday, with Teresa Borrell failing to qualify for the women's trap final.

A former crack yacht racer, her quick rise through the shooting ranks found her lacking the necessary experience to handle the tension of the Olympics.

The Aucklander's score of 58 from 75 targets saw her placed 15th out of 17 shooters. She was in touch with the leaders after the first round, hitting 21 targets, but then dropped away with scores of 19 and 18 for the next two rounds.

New Zealand shooting team manager Ian Pottinger lamented the fact that Borrell had, like all her team-mates so far at the Games, shot below what she was capable of.

"In Teresa's case, at least some good can come out of it inasmuch as she's inexperienced," he said.

"You have to experience shooting at this level to know what it is about.

"She's only been in this sport a few years. She's come in from a yachting background and obviously she is a very determined lady and very focused on what she's doing."

Borrell took up shooting after helming a yacht to victory in the women's division of the Sydney-Hobart classic in 1995.

She was third in last year's Commonwealth shooting championships.

Top qualifier in the women's trap was Daina Gudzineviciute, of Lithuania, with an Olympic record total of 71.

- NZPA