QUEENSLAND’S top ranked female 10 metre air rifle shooter is Alexandra Hills resident Alyce Gallon.
A member of the Paramount Targetsports Club, 31-year-old Gallon showed that she does not falter under pressure, winning the gold medal at the state championships.
The challenge of the sport is what Gallon really enjoys.
“It is an individual sport where your actions affect your outcome,” Gallon said.
“It has helped me become more focused as you cannot be thinking about what you’re going to have for dinner when you’re shooting.
“It’s a great sport as it is as much about your mentality as it is about your physicality.”
The 10 metre air rifle event is part of the Commonwealth Games and Olympics, with separate competitions for men and women.
At national, state and club level men and women usually compete in the same events.
A Queensland Target Sports spokesperson said the qualification round at the state championship event consisted of 60 shots in 75 minutes, with a maximum score of 10.9 per shot.
“Alyce qualified for the final with the top score of the day, 584.3,” the spokesperson said.
“She then carried that form into the final where the top eight athletes compete in a knock out format to decide the medals.
“It was an exciting final with the top three positions regularly changing throughout the final.”
Gallon, who has been shooting for 10 years and competitively for the past eight, came out the winner.
She started shooting at Paramount Targetsports after moving from Canberra.
“My now husband was a member of the club when he lived in Brisbane and he took me out the first Friday after we moved,” Gallon said.
She has been a state representative since 2011, attended the New Zealand Nationals in 2016 and represented Australia in the Oceania Continental Championships in 2015 and last year.
Her team won bronze in 2015 and silver last year.
Having reached her goals of representing Australia, Gallon aims to encourage junior shooters and help them achieve their sporting dreams.
Read more local sport here.