Teen wins shooting world cup and sets record

A British teenager has won gold at her first senior competition, setting a junior world record in the process.

Bethany Norton, 19, from Hertford, triumphed in the women's skeet at the ISSF World Cup on Saturday in Tangier, Morocco.

The clay pigeon shooter beat Olympic and world championship medallists to take home the gold, and her score of 28 was the highest recorded by a junior at a senior competition final.

Norton, a student at Newcastle University, said she was "overwhelmed" by the win and had never expected to qualify for the final.

In skeet, competitors start with the gun at their hip before the clay comes out, as opposed to trap, where players start with the gun at their eye.

Norton was guaranteed to set a record on Saturday - because no junior has reached that stage of the competition since a new format was introduced last year.

The record was "a pretty good added bonus", she said.

"No matter what happened I knew I was going to be really proud and happy with the outcome and all the hard work I've put in over the winter," said Norton, speaking to British Shooting following the victory.

"I'm pretty overwhelmed. I wasn't expecting to even qualify for a final this weekend, so to make the final and then come away with gold is just amazing."

"When they were calling everyone out - Olympian, Olympic medallist, world championship medallist - and then there was just me, first World Cup final… it was a big moment."

Norton said she was prepared for the challenging wind conditions in Tangier because of similar weather back home.

"It actually made it more enjoyable. I just focus on the target and shoot on instinct."

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