By Amlan Chakraborty
CHATEAUROUX, France (Reuters) - Adriana Ruano Oliva knows the true impact of an Olympic medal and Guatemala's trailblazing shooter hopes her breakthrough gold in Paris will ignite myriad dreams in a country with just one shooting range.
The 29-year-old became the central American nation's first Olympic champion after winning the women's trap event with a Games record at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre on Wednesday.
It was Guatemala's only third Olympic medal ever, coming a day after Jean Pierre Brol won the men's trap bronze at the same venue.
"My teammate's medal was really an inspiration for me and worked as an example that dreams come true," Ruano Oliva told Reuters.
"I hope the same will be the impact of my medal on the people shooting right now.
"I just hope that this will be an example that even if we are a small country, there are no limits for us."
There are plenty of hurdles though, she admitted, because shooting ranges are scarce in Central America and expensive in Europe.
"That made me, and the whole Guatemala team, mentally stronger because we had to overcome more obstacles," she said.
"For me, there are no excuses for anything."
Even when she was confined to home during the COVID pandemic, Ruano Oliva stuck stickers and red tapes on the walls of her room and did mock practice.
She would film her movements and send them to her coach for feedback.
"I had two really bad years in terms of results but I said 'Okay, this is the time to get better mentally'.
"I worked a lot with my psychologist and then we went to Lonato and I made my first World Cup final (in 2021)," she said.
THE ACCIDENTAL SHOOTER
Her indomitable spirit is another aspect the next generation of Guatemalan shooters would do well to imbibe.
Ruano Oliva turned a shooter only after a spine injury in 2011 nipped in the bud her promising career as a gymnast, who had represented Guatemala in the 2010 Pan American Games.
After a schedule of training eight-hours-a-day and six-times-a-week for gymnastics, life came to a standstill for Ruano Oliva, who spent a year wearing brace to keep herself immobilised.
She grew restless and irritable, prompting her family to get into a huddle with her doctor to weigh her sports options.
Shooting was just what the doctor ordered.
"My doctor suggested I tried it, and shooting came and changed my life forever," she said. "I took it like a therapy."
She is grateful to the sport not just for her fame but also because it helped her grow as a person.
Ruano Oliva, who worked as a volunteer at the Rio Olympics, has done her master's degree in sports nutrition and runs a clinic, which she now wants to expand.
The other growth she wants to see is in the number of shooting ranges in her country.
"The current shooting range in Guatemala is not even standardised," she said. "I hope my medal would motivate people to set up more ranges."
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty; Editing by Alison Williams)
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