Namibia’s leading shottist, Gaby Ahrens, on Tuesday jetted out of the country to participate in the 3rd World Cup of the season in Cyprus.
Ahrens will use the competition as preparation for the upcoming African Championships in November in Johannesburg. She will compete in the Olympic trap competition on Saturday with the finals slated to follow after the qualification rounds in the morning.
The four World Cups annually see the crème de la crème of the shooting world converge at different locations to do battle.
With the Olympic Summer Games next year in Rio de Janeiro, the competition is expected to be more intense than usual with every shottist aiming for the win to qualify for the biggest global sporting event.
The Namibian shottist will use the tourney to get the much-needed exposure and stiff competition ahead of the African Championships in South Africa, where Olympic places are up for grabs with only the winner guaranteed a spot – both in the female and the male division.
Ahrens won the event in 2011 to qualify for the Olympics the next year in London and expressed confidence ahead of the event.
“I’m looking forward to the competition,” she said after spending nearly every day on the shooting range at the Luiperdsvallei military base over the last couple of weeks.