Whilst all eyes were on GB’s shooters at the Paris Olympics, Rugeley Rifle Club member Olivia Beech has been representing Great Britain at the Nordic Championships in Denmark.
Shooting in the Mixed Team and Women’s 50Metre Three Position rifle events, Olivia placed 18th individually, and 16th in the Mixed Pairs with teammate Louis Norman.
The Nordic Championships were first run in 1922 with the aim of providing Nordic target shooters with the best preparation for competing at the World Championships and Olympic Games. Great Britain applied to join the Nordic Shooting Region in 1971, receiving approval in 1973. With the launch of the UIT (ISSF) World Cup series as a means to distribute Olympic Quota Places, the significance of the Nordic Championships declined through the 1980s as the World Cups took precedence for top shooter’s competition calendars and financial resources. In 1992 it was agreed to refocus the event as a biennial Junior Championship to prepare development athletes for the senior World Cup series with seniors only included sporadically.
