Huntly shooter Jon Beddis, competing in his first International Clay Target Shooting Federation World Championship, yesterday took out the 50-target final by a single point in Hamilton from Australian Darryn Nicholls and Austin Coxhead from England.
Beddis was consistent throughout the 250 target event over three days, going into yesterday's 100 targets tied Nicholls and Coxhead and shooting a perfect score. The world championship format is shot under the points score system of three points for a first barrel score, two points for a second and zero for a complete miss. Beddis' overall score was a world class 895 points out of 900.
To cap off a great week for New Zealand, the women's world championship also went to a Kiwi. Natalie Curtis from Matamata, took her second world title, having won in 2004 in England. This again was a tight affair with Curtis winning by a point from current champion and also two-time winner, Natalie Rooney from Timaru.
The world teams championship again saw New Zealand teams to the fore. The No 1 team won the open title and the women's No 1 team took their category.
The event was the largest championship with 600 shooters from around the world competing.
