Inspirational Emirati shooter Abdulla Sultan Alaryani has described collecting the UAE’s first gold medal at the London 2012 Paralympic Games as a “dream”.
Alaryani, 42, clinched gold in the R6-50m prone rifle shooting after holding his nerve in a thrilliing climax to proceedings at the London’s Royal Artillery Barrack.
Firing a final score of 102.8 for an overall total of 694.8, the Emirati took the gold by the narrowest of margins, edging out Spain’s Juan Antonio Saavedra Reinaldo by just 0.2.
Britain’s British shooter Matthew Skelhon finished third with 639.2 points, while 47-year-old Swede Jonas Jakobsson – the most decorated male Paralympian of all time with 16 golds and 29 medals in total – was denied the chance to add to his impressive haul.
The victory was four years in the making for Alaryani after the disappointment of missing out on the final round at the Beijing Games in 2008. He admits, though, he extremely confident of exorcising those demons in London.
“It’s amazing. I was sure that I was going to get the gold,” he said. “It’s a dream – the first time I’ve won gold and the first gold medal for UAE in this competition (London 2012). It’s everything for me.
“From the day I finished the last Paralympic Games I started immediately planning for this one. I was very focused on London.”
The Al Ain born shooter’s triumph is also a victory for perseverance and determination having recovered from horrific injuries he suffered in a car crash back in 2005 which left him paralysed from the waist down to claim his first gold medal.
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