Marksman Doron Shaziri Wins Israel’s Second Bronze at Paralympics in Rio
The 49-year-old has won medals in six Games since losing a leg in Lebanon in 1987.
Marksman Doron Shaziri won a bronze at the Paralympic Games on Monday, making this the sixth Paralympics in a row at which he has captured at least one medal. It was also Israel's second bronze at the Games.
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The 49-year-old competed in Rio in the men’s 50-meter rifle in three positions – lying, kneeling and standing – and scored 437.5 points, enough to win third place. This is his eighth Paralympics medal and fourth bronze. The other four were silvers.
“Of course I’m excited,” said Shaziri, who couldn’t stop clowning around at the medals ceremony despite his age; he stuck out his tongue and licked the mascot doll he received for his achievement.
“There’s no such thing as a guaranteed medal, and nothing is dictated in advance. This has been a fairly weak year for me, and this has actually been my best competition. It’s good it came at this moment.”
Winning a medal, he added, takes “a lot of mental work. The technique is old, but you need quiet, and today I managed to achieve that quiet and got off good shots. As long as I still have strength in my hips, I’ll keep going, and as far as I’m concerned, even another appearance at the Paralympics is conceivable.”
In 1987, Shaziri stepped on a mine while patrolling near the Beaufort outpost in Lebanon, and his leg had to be amputated. He now trains at Beit Halochem in Tel Aviv. Since 1995, his coach has been marksman Guy Starik, who represented Israel four times at the regular Olympics.
Shaziri’s medal is Israel’s second at Rio following a bronze by rower Moran Samuel. Israel has won 382 medals since the Paralympics began in 1960.