The new British air rifle champion David Turner who was only able to compete because of a cancellation on the day

TWO Jersey shooters were crowned British champions at Bisley at the weekend.

Mary Norman dominated to win the women’s Air Pistol Championship by a huge ten point margin on Saturday and David Turner shot to the men’s Air Rifle Championship title by four points yesterday.

Norman, a St Lawrence Miniature Rifle Club shooter, qualified for the final in first with 375 ex 400, nine points ahead of her closest rival. She then increased her lead in the final, finishing on 467.7 with England’s Vicki Tripney second on 457.8 and Guernsey’s Nikki Trebert in fourth on 455.4.

A delighted Norman said: ‘It is just unreal to think that I am British champion. This is the fourth time I have entered this competition and the last two times I have made it to the final but not in the top three.’

It was a double gold for Jersey with Turner winning his event but it was almost over before it started as the Eastern Air Rifle Club shooter found on arrival that the competition was full and only a cancellation on the morning rewarded him with a starting place.

Unsurprisingly after the tension Turner did not start at his best and finished the first series in ninth place, four points behind the leader.

He then got into his stride and shot consistently well through to the end to finish the second phase on 579 ex 600 before boosting his lead, in the Olympic final, to 677.8 ex 700 four points clear of second place.