It may have been the first time he competed in the mixed team event at the National Pistol Championships, but that didn’t stop Gibsons’ Allan Harding from taking home first place with his teammate Lynda Kiejko.
The pair earned a combined 410.8 points in the Mixed Team 10m Air Pistol event and because this is the first time the event was offered at Nationals, they set a record doing it. Harding took home another gold in the Men’s 10m Individual Air Pistol event with 238.4 points, defending last year’s title and breaking the Canadian record he set.
While Harding has competed with partners at other competitions this year, he said the fact that Kiejko shoots left-handed and Harding shoots with his right gave them an edge in Cookstown. “Being able to face the other person, it’s quite easy to see when the other person is finished, so I think it gives us a bit of an advantage. Plus it makes it easier for fist bumps,” Harding said.
Harding said he approached Kiejko to compete together as a team, with the long-term goal of competing at the Pan Am Games or Olympics. They also plan to compete together at the ISSF World Shooting Championships in Changwon, South Korea, in September.
“This is definitely an important year. 2019 is crucial for the Olympic journey, but I want to make sure that I’m also setting myself up for 2019, too,” Harding said.
That includes November’s Championship of the Americas in Mexico, a qualifier to get to the Pan Am games in Peru, which is typically Team Canada’s best chance of qualifying for the Olympics.
It has been a whirlwind season of travel for the pistol shooter, who recently achieved world-ranking status with the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF). The 123rd-ranked shooter competed in the final stage of the ISSF World Cup Series in Germany in May.
With the nationals behind him, Harding is taking the next six weeks to prepare for South Korea.
