Alaryani lives his dream and wins the gold

“It's a dream, the first time I've won gold and the first gold medal for the United Arab Emirates in this competition. It's everything for me.”

Abdulla Alaryani of the United Arab Emirates has dethroned Swedish great Jonas Jacobsson, winning the R6 mixed 50m Rifle prone SH1 competition at the Royal Artillery Barracks.

Alaryani is the first shooter to beat Jacobsson in this event at the Paralympic Games, with Jacobsson having won all three previous gold medals.

Alaryani said he always believed he would win the gold medal.

He said: "From the day I finished the last Paralympic Games (Beijing 2008) I started immediately planning for this one, I was very focused on London,”

“It's a dream, the first time I've won gold and the first gold medal for the United Arab Emirates in this competition. It's everything for me.”

Alaryani led for 80 per cent of the final, before Spain’s Juan Saavedra Reinaldo overtook him with his ninth shot.

Alaryani held his nerve however, shooting 10.6 with his final shot to reclaim his lead and win the gold medal, with Saavedra Reinaldo winning the silver medal.

Matt Skelhon delighted his Great British supporters making a charge up the leaderboard right from the very first shot. Skelhon was in seventh place after qualifying and shot with great consistency in the final to finish third.

Skelhon said he was “speechless” with the result but was unaware of his climb up the standings.

"I thought I was going OK because the crowd's cheers were quite loud, so I looked down then and suddenly I was third," he said.

Sweden’s Jacobsson was in second position after qualifying, but ultimately finished fourth, shooting less than 10.0 on three occasions in the final.

The shooting competition is scheduled to resume at 9:00 on Wednesday (5 September) at the Royal Artillery Barracks.

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Caption

Matt Skelhon takes a shot at the Royal Artillery Barracks on Day 3 of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.