KARDELLA’S Linda Ryan was part of the Victorian ISSF Target Pistol Shooting state team that won the AED Authority Team of Year Award at the prestigious 2024 Victorian Sport Awards.
The awards were held in the Members Dining Room at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on May 14.
The team was nominated by team manager and former multiple world champion in action pistol competition shooting Cherie Blake following last year’s nationals.
Shooting in Brisbane at the Commonwealth Games range, the team shot exceptionally well, nearly winning everything.
“The nationals are held every year, and throughout the year we do selections by competing locally, interstate and internationally. We have to achieve certain scores to make the team, and last year 14 qualified,” Linda said.
“Part of the reason we were successful was because it is an inclusive sport. We had a cohort of juniors, para-athletes and experienced shooters who all shot very well. We were pleased to hear that we were finalists.”
Four members of the team, including Linda, attended the event and accepted the award.
“We were thankful to Cherie for nominating us, and also AED Authority for sponsoring our category,” Linda said.
The Victorian team was straight back into it, shooting at nationals on May 17 and 18.
Although it was not quite as successful, Linda proudly shot well in her primary match and was third outright.
Linda has been shooting since she was 14 years old, inspired by her family’s love for the sport.
Her father was a Commonwealth Games gold and bronze medallist, and both parents have represented Victorian and Queensland over the years.
Linda’s stepmother is also heavily involved with sport, and she met her partner Chris whilst competing at the National Championships in Tasmania.
Linda and Chris moved to South Gippsland in 2005, and have since been shooting with the District Pistol Club.
“Outtrim has a really high-performing club. It has around 49 members, who have been state and national team representatives. It’s a great club and we are proud to be members,” Linda said.
“Rural clubs are the best. People are always pitching in, and we have a really great balance of different disciplines.
“Shooting can be a bit of a ‘choose your own adventure’. You can choose to be as competitive as you want to be and go international, or you can compete locally, or just attend your club shoots.
There’s so many opportunities.”
Linda started competing for Australia in 1995 and retired from that level in 2016.
“Competing for Australia is a real honour. It’s an honour to be able to wear the team uniform and it’s an absolute honour to hear the anthem when you are on top of the dais,” she said.
“Competing at the Sydney Olympics was definitely a highlight. I came 11th there and just missed out, but I was happy with my performance.”
Linda was also part of the World Championship teams in 2010, received gold and silver at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, and silver in India.
“The highlights are also the team bonds you have with your teammates. When I was at the Sydney range for nationals, there were four people shooting who I used to travel with all the time. It was just wonderful to catch up with my old teammates who are still competing and shooting at different levels,” Linda said.
She enjoyed a lot of success over the years and kept a strenuous training routine to maintain peak performance.
“Before I moved here, I was working part-time and training part-time. It’s a highly mental sport, so I was undergoing a mix of technical, weight and gym training,” she said.
Linda will now be focusing on recovering from a shoulder injury before heading to a state-wide competition in August.
She is also taking steps to give back to the sport she loves so much.
“I’m on the Target Pistol Australia Board and I do a bit of coaching,” she said.
“What has been really good to see is across Australia we have a new group of juniors coming through who are so incredibly talented. Four of them weren’t at nationals because they were competing overseas in Germany at the Junior World Cup.
“We are looking at the future of our sport with the aim of the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane.”
