Michael Johnson

What kind of shooter are you? And what guns do you shoot?

Brendon and Aiden, age 8

I am a target shooter and I shoot Air Rifle and .22 Rifle.

Michael Johnson in action.

What kinds of bullets do you use?

Aiden, age 8

The ammunition I use is H&N Pellets from Germany for the Air Rifle and I use Eley .22 Bullets for the 22 Rifle.

How long do you have to train to be an Olympic shooter?

Aiden, age 8

I started target shooting in 2002 and trained really hard for 2 years and went to the 2004 Athens Paralympics. Now I train a couple of times a week to maintain accuracy and as Beijing gets closer I will be training everyday.

What encouraged you to want to be a shooter?

Katie, age 9

I wanted a hobby to do when I wasn't busy, but I enjoyed shooting so much that I kept doing it, and before I knew it I was representing New Zealand.

How old are you now and how old were you when you started?

Francesca and Katie, age 9

I am 34 years old now and when I started I was 28 years old.

What do you like about shooting?

Vanda, age 8

I like the excitement of competitions and all the friends you meet from different countries around the world. I like representing my country and feel proud when I win. I like to travel and shooting allows me to visit many different places and explore different cultures.

Is your sport fun?

Jake, age 9

Target shooting is fun and exciting at the same time, when I practice I like to add fun shooting games to make things interesting, and shooting with other people makes the sport fun as you can compare your scores and challenge your friends.

What is the best score you have ever achieved? How does the scoring work?

Justin, age 8

The best score I have achieved is a perfect score of 600 out of 600 points, which I set the World Record for as I was the first person ever to shoot 600 points. In target shooting you have to shoot 60 targets; if you hit the middle of the target you get 10 points. 60 target x 10 points = 600 points. If you miss the middle of the target you points drop to 9 or 8 or 7 etc points.

Do you get nervous?

Katie, age 9

Yes I get very nervous, sometimes I can't even eat my breakfast. But the more I practice and the more competitions I go to the nervousness gets less and less.

Does fitness come into shooting?

Chloe, age 9

Yes it does, as its good to be fit, a fit shooter can concentrate for longer and has better endurance, and when I'm not shooting it makes it easier to get around places.

Do you have to eat special food when training/competing?

Jake, age 9

In target shooting you can eat whatever you like, but as long as you're careful not to eat too much, otherwise I might not fit my Shooting Jacket.

Michael Johnson.

What is your favourite food?

My favourite food is Lasagna, but when I'm in another country I like to try the local food to see how different it is from New Zealand.

Have you been to the Olympics before?

Emerson, age 9

Yes, in 2004 I went to the Athens Paralympics and won the first ever shooting gold medal for New Zealand and set a new world record.

Do you think you will like living in the village?

Katie, age 9

Yes I think it will be excellent. It will be a good chance to spend time with the New Zealand team, see other shooters I know and meet knew people. It will also be a good chance to experience another culture, and see how people in China live.

Do you think you will get a medal?

Emerson, age 9

Yes because I have trained hard and competed and won many competitions over the past four years, with the help of SPARC & Paralympics New Zealand I have had the best possible build-up for Beijing.

Have you always been disabled?

Joshua, age 9

No, I've only been disabled since 1996 when I had a car accident, another came round the corner on the wrong side of the road towards me.

What is your uniform like?

Katie, age 9

It is really good; it's been designed to keep us cool in Beijing and be really comfortable, and has a new type of New Zealand logo that will make us stand out.

Updated | 31 Oct 2008.

Skip page tools.

• Go to top