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It was a case of third time’s the charm for Macedonian shooter Olivera Nakovska-Bikova at London 2012, when she became FYR Macedonia's first-ever Paralympic gold medallist, winning the 10m air pistol SH1 event.
In a class of her own at London, she qualified for the final in first place with a world and Paralympic record, and then smashed the Paralympic record again with a final score of 475.7 to win gold.
The Macedonian was born in Bitola in 1974 and started shooting in 1998 at the age of 24.
After being inspired by her coach Branimir Jovanovski, who won a gold medal at the Barcelona 1992 Paralympic Games, where he competed as an Independent Paralympic Participant, Nakovska-Bikova marked her international debut with a gold medal at the European Championships in 2001 Denmark.
Her shooting in the air pistol SH1 at the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games earned her two top-eight finishes.
Nakovska-Bikova also won bronze at the 2010 IPC Shooting World Championships in Switzerland, despite missing several months of training because of an injury.
The Paralympic Games in Rio 2016 are Nakovska-Bikova’s next major focus.
