Updates for Fall 2018

What a busy summer it was between work and shooting. I was in Changwon, South Korea for the 52nd ISSF World Championships and just finished getting caught up on work related projects.

Shooting at the World Championships. Jongoh Jin far left would go on to make
an epic comeback and defend his World Champion title

The World Championships went well but unfortunately I had ran into some mechanical issues with my Steyr. There was an inconsistency with one of the cylinders and it wasn't shooting as accurate as it should have been. It's not something I had ever looked at or thought could be an issue. Steyr was on-site at the World Championships and they found the problem and made the adjustment and repairs.

I found some time to help out a couple Avengers in Changwon!

My attempt to make a Canadian maple leaf on my toast... looks more like a Batman logo??
What do you think? Leave a reply in the comments below.

Just me enjoying a moment at Gwangalli Beach in Busan.

Next up, I will be competing in Calgary at the end of October for the 2018 Western Canadian Airgun Championships then I'm off to Guadalajara for the 12th Championships of the Americas.

What it’s like to be a Canadian sport shooter

I wrote down thoughts around what it's like to be a Canadian sport shooter and they were published on Vancouver Is Awesome. Check it out here!

52nd ISSF World Championships are 3 weeks away! Stay tuned for updates on my trip to Changwon, South Korea. Event details can be found at changwon2018.com.

2018 Canadian National Pistol Champion!

Just getting caught up after a whirlwind of events, work, and trips... well sort of caught up. ;)

A couple weeks ago I became the 2018 Canadian National Pistol Champion, defending my title and setting a new Canadian Nationals 10m Men's Final record! I also teamed up with 2016 Olympian Lynda Kiejko in the new 10m mixed team event and together we won the National title in the mixed team 10m event!

Kiejko and Harding our National Champions in 10m mixed team event
Photo credit: Kim Britton

Today I took home the gold in the men's 10m pistol event and defended my title to become the 2018 Canadian National Pistol Champion! Also took the 2018 10m mixed team National Champion title with Lynda Kiejko @Cdnshootingstar #targetsports #issf ...dedicated to my grandma ❤️ pic.twitter.com/L3d8p90wmt

— Allan Harding (@alharding) July 12, 2018

Some nice articles from the last couple of months of competing:

• Kiejko and Harding Win Golds, Set Records at Pistol Championship
• Gibsons pistol shooter achieves world ranking
• Pistol Champion Allan Harding Comments on Bill C-71, Competition

In May, I was at the ISSF World Cup stage in Munich, Germany for the final stage of the 2018 ISSF World Cup Series. I shot a 568/600. Awesome!

Here's the grouping from one of my better series of the match:

This is the grouping from my second series at 10m. 10-ring is 11.5mm in diameter. I need to do this every time. #issf_shooters #issf #issfwc @issf_official

A post shared by Allan Harding (@alharding) on May 25, 2018 at 3:24am PDT

Next up in the 52nd ISSF World Championships in Changwon, Korea

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @alharding for my latest updates!

My 'Where Did The Summer Go?' update

It’s been awhile since I’ve gotten an update on here… where do I start!?

So much shooting, so much travel, so much work. August went by in a bit of a blur and now September is almost finished.

At the start of August I was still in Scotland for the remainder of the 2014 XX Commonwealth Games. I don’t know how to really describe the experience of attending and competing at the Commonwealth Games. It’s one of the biggest things I’ve ever done so far in my life.

Now… I want more. 

The 2015 Pan Am Games are in Toronto next summer and I’ve already been doing what I can to prepare to make the team to compete there. This will be a huge event for Canada to be able to host, maybe we’ll see the Olympic Summer Games back in Canada one day.

After the Commonwealth Games I only had a few days before competing at the Canadian National Pistol Championships. That went well with me finishing in 2nd after the 10m qualifications and in 1st after the 50m qualifications. My 50m result was enough for me to qualify on the 50m National Development Team. Awesome. I took a few days off after Nationals and flew directly from Edmonton to Las Vegas for a small break.

My day job really got busy in August and Sept so that has been keeping me very busy also.

Last week I was competing in Granada, Spain at the 51st ISSF World Championships which happen every 4 years. This was my first time in Spain and despite it being a very short trip it was good to go and compete there and see how I’d fare against the best in the world. Some of these shooters are incredibly talented, I’m not even sure how much full-time training some of them must do in order to be able to perform at their level. It’s motivated me to ramp up my own training and see what I can do given more training, planning, and coaching. Click for some photos from my Spain trip!

Visiting the Alhambra in Granada, Spain

View from the top of Alhambra looking at Granada, Spain

I’m currently 1/4 of the way into a 4 week training plan to get ready for the Championships of the Americas being held in Guadalajara, Mexico next month. I’ll be there Oct 11-18 and will be competing in the 10m and 50m events. This will be my first time shooting both of the Olympic precision pistol events I train for. Exciting!

Expect some more radio silence as I get through the next 3 weeks preparing for Guadalajara. This is an important event with quota spots for the 2015 Pan Am Games and the 2016 Olympic Summer Games being awarded to the top shooters.

Keep the comments and feedback coming.. I really appreciate it! 

Thanks for all the support!