Shooting: Reality kills the video star

Des Coe was slaying them in the Games village - using a plastic revolver to plug villains right, left and centre. But when New Zealand's Olympic double trap shooter opened fire at the Cecil Park range yesterday it was swiftly "game over".

"I was doing okay on the video games, but it's a bit different to the real thing," mused Coe after finishing dead last in qualifying with a score of 118 from a possible 150.

It was one of the Waikato marksman's worst-ever efforts in a long international career. He has a personal best of 136 and scored a 137 in a practice shoot at Wanganui shortly before leaving for Sydney.

"For every good day you have 10 bad ones and this was right down there," Coe said.

A Commonwealth bronze medallist in the single trap at Kuala Lumpur two years ago, Coe never got in the groove despite perfect shooting conditions on the sun-baked range 35km from Homebush.

Only the top six from the field of 25 qualified for the final and Coe was never in the hunt from the start.

"Timing is the big thing and I was letting the first clay run a bit long," said Coe, who then had less time to line up the second target.

"The conditions were perfect, I can't complain about the targets - it's all down to me."

Coe sealed his fate early, missing 10 targets in the first round. A second round 41 solidified his position near the tail and when he sought to go out in a blaze of glory he missed nine of the opening 20 targets in his third round.

"I was crowding the gun, trying to zero in on them," he said.

Great Britain's Richard Faulds overcame the home support for defending Olympic champion Russell Mark, beating the Australian in a shoot-off after both were tied on 187 (from a possible 200).

- NZPA