Skeet shooting siblings Natalia and Paul Rahman have Olympic medals in their sights after qualifying for Beijing last week.
By Paul Pickering
KEYSBOROUGH siblings Natalia and Paul Rahman will be shooting for history – and for each other – at the Beijing Olympics this August.
The Rahmans, who have been inseparable on the shooting range since loading their guns 10 years ago, are aiming to be the first siblings to win medals in their respective events at an Olympic Games.
The pair booked their tickets to Beijing in dramatic circumstances last week, surviving a tense final qualification tournament in Sydney.
On Friday, Natalia, 25, held her nerve in a shootout with Athens Olympian Lauryn Mark to secure the only available spot in the women’s skeet event.
Natalia entered the Australian Cup competition two shots behind Mark in the clay target discipline, but shot a perfect final round 25 to oust her more fancied opponent by a single shot.
Paul, who narrowly missed the final of the men’s skeet in Athens at the age of 19, finished the last selection trial in equal second place with New South Welshman Clive Barton.
But, as was the case for his big sister, it was a faultless final round 25 that saw Paul oust Barton for the second Olympic berth on a countback.
While the Rahmans were equally elated by their dual accomplishment this week, it seemed the enormity of the moment was much more apparent for Natalia.
“I’m a nervous wreck when I go out there, but he (Paul) doesn’t get nervous,” she said.
“It basically came down to that last shot. And I actually stood up there thinking, ‘if I miss this, everything is out the door – all the hard work I’ve done’.
“I had to put the gun down, pick it up again and tell myself that it was just any other day, because there was no way I was going to hit it shaking that badly.”
For Paul, a laconic plumber who nearly quit the sport last year, the pressure was released by his sister’s success.
“It takes a big weight off my shoulders if she does well before me, because it gives me the confidence to know that it doesn’t matter how well I go,” he said.
“Normally, with me, the harder it becomes and the more it means, I sort of switch into a zone and feel better and better.”
So while their competitive personas may be poles apart, the Rahmans have been side by side in the sport since their father introduced them to clay target shooting a decade ago.
Back then Natalia’s interest had been sparked by television coverage of Michael Diamond’s gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Now, the Rahmans will be loading their shotguns alongside Diamond – now considered a friend – in Beijing.
For Natalia, the path to Beijing has had its disappointments.
While she has claimed two Commonwealth Games gold medals and World Championships silver and bronze, she has also suffered the agony of two failed Olympic selection bids.
So, having overcome her Olympic hurdle, Natalia now has a medal in the crosshairs.
“It really hasn’t sunk in yet that my brother and I are going together, but from here my confidence levels have just been boosted enormously and I’m aiming for a medal in Beijing,” she said.
And whether Natalia and Paul achieve that common goal or not, they will be living out their Olympic dream together.
