German ace shooter Sonja Pfeilschifter fired her first practice shots in the Olympic shooting range on Saturday, 24 hours after her arrival in Beijing.
"I was just trying to get a feeling here," said the world record holder, who only practiced the position of kneeling Saturday noon.
This wasn't the first time Pfeilschifter opened fire at the Olympic shooting range. She won silver medals at the "Good Luck Beijing" World Cup in the women's 10-meter air rifle and rifle three positions -- in both events she holds the world record.
Pfeilschifter said she had six days to get ready for the competition. "That is enough," she said.
The four-time Olympian has never won Olympic gold. "The Olympics doesn't like me," she once joked.
With "a group of girls able to shoot quite well", Pfeilschifter said that competing was like "traveling in the circle".
"You can't predict who will win," she said. "I don't think too much about anyone else. I just do my best."
Whatever the result, the German soldier's love in shooting won't change.
Pfeilschifter made her name in junior international competitions. "Shooting gives me a sense of achievement. I will carry on with the sport," she said.
The German sharpshooter said self-control was essential to shooters.
"You should always learn to control yourself," she said.
(Xinhua News Agency August 3, 2008)