11 Oct 2010

Scoolboy error costs veteran athlete silver medal

7:59 am on 11 October 2010

A schoolboy error by Australia's oldest athlete cost him the chance of a Commonwealth Games silver medal.

57-year-old Michelangelo Giustiniano, competing in the 25 metre centrefire pistol event in Dehli, could only raise his eyes in horror when he realised he had fired five shots into a rival's target.

Giustiniano's scoreboard was left blank while nines and 10s popped up on the target belonging to the shooter next to him, Singapore's Lip Meng Poh.

Some of Giustiniano shots counted towards Poh's score of 49, giving him bronze and leaving the Australian in fifth.