Timothy Lowndes

Timothy Quentin Lowndes (born 28 September 1979 in Lilydale, Victoria) is an Australian sport shooter.[2] He has competed for Australia in rifle shooting at two Olympics (2000 and 2004), and has been close to an Olympic final in 2004, finishing twelfth in the rifle three positions. Apart from his Olympic career, Lowndes has won a total of seven medals in a major international competition, spanning two editions of the Commonwealth Games (1998 and 2002), and the Oceanian Championships.[1] Throughout his sporting career, Lowndes trains full-time under Yugoslav-born head coach and 1976 Olympian Miroslav Šipek of the national team, while he shoots at Townsville Smallbore Rifle Club on the outskirts of Melbourne.[1][3]

Timothy Lowndes
Personal information
Full nameTimothy Quentin Lowndes
Nationality Australia
Born (1979-09-28) 28 September 1979
Lilydale, Victoria,
Australia
Height1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Weight87 kg (192 lb)
Sport
SportShooting
Event(s)10 m air rifle (AR60)
50 m rifle prone (FR60PR)
50 m rifle 3 positions (FR3X40)
ClubTownsville Smallbore Rifle Club[1]
Coached byMiroslav Šipek[1]
Medal record
Men's shooting
Representing  Australia
Commonwealth Games
1998 Kuala Lumpur FR3X40
2002 Manchester FR60PR
2002 Manchester FR3X40

Lowndes began shooting small-bore rifle at the age of thirteen, and then became a Commonwealth Games champion in the rifle three positions when he was nineteen.[4][5] Two years later, Lowndes made his Olympic debut as part of the host nation's shooting team in Sydney 2000. There, he finished a lowly forty-first in the air rifle with 582 points, and then shared a credible score of 593 with his fellow marksman Warren Potent for nineteenth place in the rifle prone.[6][7][8] Lowndes also competed in his favourite event, the rifle three positions, where he shot a total of 1159 points, 395 in prone, 375 in standing, and 389 in kneeling, to force in a two-way tie with Sweden's Olympic rifle prone champion Jonas Edman for a frustrating twentieth out of forty-four shooters.[9]

In 2002, Lowndes was able to back up his feat from the Olympics at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester. There, he set a new Games record at 699.8 to deny Great Britain's Michael Babb a gold medal in the rifle prone.[10][11] Lowndes captured a silver in the rifle three positions with 1251.2 points to add up his medal tally to two at these Games, narrowly losing the title to India's Charan Singh by a close, 0.3-point margin.[12][13] The next season contributed to another monumental success for Lowndes, as he managed to get a gold medal and an Olympic quota place for Australia in his favourite event at the Oceanian Championships in Auckland, New Zealand with a steady 1231.4.[14]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Lowndes qualified for his second Aussie team in rifle shooting. In the 10 m air rifle, held on the third day of the Games, Lowndes shot 587 out of a possible 600 to tie for thirty-fifth place with three other shooters.[15] Four days later, Lowndes bounced back from a dismal air rifle showing to attain a perfect 100 and three sets of 99 for a total score of 592 in the 50 m rifle prone, vaulting him up to sixteenth position.[16] Lowndes' run ended in his signature event, 50 m rifle 3 positions, where he fired a brilliant 398 in prone, 374 in standing, and 389 in the kneeling to finish in twelfth with a total score of 1161, having been close to an Olympic final cutoff by just three points.[17]

References
  1. "ISSF Profile – Timothy Lowndes". ISSF. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Timothy Lowndes". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  3. "Mark misses the mark – with rifle and with mouth". Sydney Morning Herald. 2 August 2002. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  4. "Tim's right on target". Australian Department of Defence. 2002. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  5. "Aussie mum wins women's marathon; medal for Lesotho". Hürriyet Daily News. 21 September 1998. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  6. "Sydney 2000: Shooting – Men's 10m Air Rifle" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 46–48. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  7. "Sydney 2000: Shooting – Men's 50m Rifle Prone" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 49–51. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  8. "China's Cai wins air rifle gold". Canoe.ca. 18 September 2000. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  9. "Sydney 2000: Shooting – Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 52–54. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  10. "Teenager takes trap title". BBC Sport. 1 August 2002. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  11. Hughes, Michael (29 July 2002). "Babb and Day on target for England". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  12. "Singh hits new Games record". Manchester 2002. 3 August 2002. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  13. Srinivisan, Karnesh (3 August 2002). "Charan Singh on target". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  14. "Shooting 2004 Olympic Qualification" (PDF). Majority Sports. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  15. "Shooting: Men's 10m Air Rifle Prelims". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  16. "Shooting: Men's 50m Rifle Prone Prelims". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  17. "Shooting: Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions Prelims". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
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