139 Athletes Head to IPC Shooting World Cup

Matt Skelhon will compete in three Shooting events at London 2012. © • John Walton Paralympic Champion talks to GB's Queen Elizabeth © • Getty Images

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Coates and Skelhon Head Off to IPC Shooting World Cup in U.S.

“I’m hoping to win the R3 event, which I won in Beijing, and see how I can get on in R1.”

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Shooting World Cup kicks off in Szczecin, Poland on Thursday (12 April), with 139 shooters taking part in 10 events.

The event begins with R3 mixed 10m Air Rifle prone SH1, in which Great Britain’s Nathan Millgate and Beijing gold medallist Matt Skelhon will likely battle it out for the top podium spot.

“I’m hoping to come away from there with another gold medal, maybe two,” Skelhon said. “I’m hoping to win the R3 event, which I won in Beijing, and see how I can get on in R1.”

Skelhon won bronze at the 2010 World Championships but is currently ranked world No. 1 in the event. World champion Andrey Lebedinsky of Russia will hope to make an impression in the P5 mixed Air Pistol Standard SH1 later that day, and the Falling Target Pistol event will also take place on Thursday.

Friday’s events include the P2 women's 10m Air Pistol SH1, R4 mixed 10m Air Rifle standing SH2 as well as the Falling Target Rifle SH1. The P2 will likely see a close competition between Great Britain’s Pam Grainger – ranked world No. 1 – and Russia’s world champion Marina Klimenchenko. Great Britain’s Richard Davies and Adam Fontain are podium favourites for the R4 event.

USA’s Eric Hollen and Beijing silver medallist Sergey Malyashev of Russia are expected to shine in the P1 men's 10m Air Pistol SH1 on Saturday, while Great Britain’s James Bevis and Ryan Cockbill are the highest-ranked shooters in the R5 mixed 10m Air Rifle prone SH2.

The competition will close on Sunday with the R1 men's 10m Air Rifle standing SH1, in which Milgate, Skelhon and Germany’s Norbert Gau, who won silver in Beijing, will battle for gold.

In the R2 women's 10m Air Rifle standing SH1 Great Britain’s 57-year-old Deanna Coates and 29-year-old Veronika Vadovicova from Slovakia will go head-to-head. The final event of the competition will be the Falling Target Rifle SH2.

The IPC Shooting World Cup has been held for the last four years in Poland. Last year, 108 athletes from 14 countries took part. This year, 139 athletes from 24 National Paralympic Committees will compete.