By JARROD POTTER
SUPER shot Laetisha Scanlan booked her place at the Commonwealth Games with a shoot-off victory at the ISSF World Cup Shotgun trap event in Tuscon, Arizona.
Fighting off a head cold, which left her bedridden leading into the competition, the focus for Scanlan shifted from the targets to managing her sickness and it paid dividends for the Berwick-based shotgun specialist.
“It was so funny, I went there and I got the worst head cold like you wouldn’t believe it,” Scanlan said.
“I took a few days off to rest in bed and things like that and it was one of those things that I was more focused on my cold than I was on the target and it seemed to work.
The win was an early birthday present for Scanlan, who celebrated her 24th birthday on Sunday with a gold medal around her neck after beating Great Britain’s Sarah Wixey in the trap women’s shoot-off.
Making the gold medal match has proved more challenging mentally for Scanlan than performing well in the last round and it is reflected in her two-from-two winning record in World Cup finals.
“Probably my biggest task was to make the final – I feel like when I make finals I’m fine and the pressure is actually less than the qualification,” Scanlan said.
“I’ve had a really good record with finals in the last year and every final I make I seem to medal so I wasn’t really worried about the final.
“I wasn’t really worried about shooting against Sarah, I was just focused about hitting my target and didn’t seem to get too nervous when I missed.”
Scanlan only needed one shot to surpass Wixey in the shoot-off to finish a tough week on an immense high.
“Sarah went first and missed hers and I didn’t even watch it, I just heard the buzzer to indicate it was a miss and I tried to focus and think of all the positive things,” Scanlon said.
“I was so happy when I hit it and it’s that instant relief of pressure and satisfaction of taking home a gold medal.”
Scanlan’s World Cup victory all but guarantees her a ticket on the plane to Glasgow for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and a chance to defend the gold medal she won in Delhi in 2010 in the women’s trap pairs, that along with setting her sights on an individual medal.
“This was our last Commonwealth Games selection match and I’m pretty sure it sealed the deal for me to go,” Scanlan said.
“I get to defend my medal and it’s going to be exciting going to Scotland – I’ve only been there once and never shot there.
“They’re building the range as we speak, so the weather will be interesting and Scotland isn’t the warmest place in the world but I’m looking forward to it.”
Her ranking will boost in upcoming weeks into the top-five shooters in the world and Scanlan has her sights set on number one.
Her next challenge after the Commonwealth Games will be the ISSF World Championships, held this year in Granada, Spain from 6-20 September.
