Jen McIntosh stepped up from her disappointment in the 10m Air Rifle two days ago to win the only medal in what was a challenging day for Scotland’s shooters.
Swirling winds made conditions on the Small Bore range treacherous, where every shot needed to count to avoid elimination.
The Gold Medallist in Delhi, McIntosh shot steadily throughout and finished strongly to take Bronze in the 50m Rifle Prone in unpredictable winds on the outdoor range.
“It was really tricky out there. That was a really a great performance and I’m just glad to get a medal,” said McIntosh. “It came down to being incredibly focused. I held it together and focused.”
The 23-year-old paid tribute to the supportive crowd. “I’m loving the home support and just want to say thank you.”
Sarah Henderson also put in a solid Games debut coming seventh in the same event having only joined the international squad in recent years.
It also became evident why the 50m Prone is traditionally viewed as one of the most competitive events at the Games, when reigning Commonwealth Champion Jon Hammond failed to progress to the finals after finishing 11th in the changeable conditions.
The Delhi Gold Medallist said, “Definitely conditions were a bit tricky. For some reason I didn’t manage to deal with it as well as I thought I would. Ultimately it wasn’t my day.”
Neil Stirton, fared slightly better in the qualification round, shooting 618 to edge into the Final. However, for Stirton the excitement was short lived, going out early in the elimination round after a wayward last shot.
“I was delighted to be in the final,” said Stirton, “but slightly disappointed not to medal. Today just wasn’t my day. I got eliminated early because of a few bad shots.”
Like Hammond and McIntosh, his focus is now on the 3 Position Rifle event on the final day of shooting tomorrow.
Elsewhere on the ranges it was 15th place for Alan Ritchie and 16th for Alan Goodall in the 50m Pistol qualifier, despite both logging joint highest scores of 91 in their first shots.
In the second day of the Fullbore Individual event, Angus McLeod is sitting eighth, whilst his medal-winning partner in Pairs, Ian Shaw, is 12th. Both are looking forward to the final day of shooting tomorrow when the event moves up to the longer distances of 900 and 1,000 yards, which is traditionally where the better shooters come to the fore.
In shotgun, it was sad day for Shona Marshall in Trap. The Delhi Silver medallist never got in to her rhythm and bowed out in qualification in what was her final event before retiring from international competition.
“Disappointing result but to be honest I was really pleased with the last round,” said Marshall. “I got a bit emotional knowing it was my last shot.”
In the opening two rounds of the Men’s Trap, Jonathan Reid and John Macdonald are sitting in the top half of the table with scores of 43 and 44 respectively from a possible 50. The top six shooters after five rounds go through to the elimination final.

Photo credit: John Lindsay