Johnson silver at para shooting world champs
New Zealand shootre Michael Johnson has claimed his second silver medal at the world para shooting championships in South Korea, missing gold by 0.1 of a point.
Johnson, a six-time Paralympian, tallied 254.6 points in the men's R5 mixed 10m air rifle prone final in Changwon, finishing just behind Serbia's Dragn Ristic.
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In a thrilling finale, Ristic scored 10.4 with his final shot and Johnson replied with a 10.5, but it was not quite enough to overhaul the Serbian on overall points.
If Johnson had won it would have earned New Zealand a quota spot at the Los Angeles Paralympic Games in 2028.
Johnson is still targeting those Games. His fine form in Changwon saw him collect two silver medals, after finishing second in the R4 mixed 10m air rifle standing SH2 event on Thursday.
After the final, he said he felt exhausted.
"It's been a full-on competition but making the R5 final was exceptional and exciting. Qualification was so tough and intense and to then battle in the final and almost win gold is awesome. To come away with two silver medals is hard to beat. It shows me my training has paid off."
"Ahead of my final shot the audience all started a slow hand clap," Johnson said.
"I knew I needed to take my time, but you still feel rushed because the other competitors have taken their final shot and I only had 30 seconds. I just tried to stay focused and as relaxed as I could, follow my processes. I missed out by 0.1 but that's shooting."
The 52-year-old has now won seven world championship medals - two of them gold - over a 20-year span.
