Natalie Rooney

Athlete

• Born: June 1, 1988
• Birthplace: Timaru, New Zealand

Also known as: Natalie Ellen Rooney

Education: Craighead Diocesan School; Canterbury University

Significance: New Zealander Natalie Rooney is a competitive trap shooter and silver medallist at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. By that competition she had risen to be ranked seventh in the world and became only the second shooting Olympic medallist in New Zealand's history. Rooney also found success at the Commonwealth Games in 2010 and 2014.

Background

Natalie Rooney was raised on a small deer farm outside Waimate, New Zealand, south of Timaru, South Canterbury. She has three brothers: Sam, Cameron and William. Their mother, Adrienne, had been a New Zealand junior basketball representative and instilled a love of sports in her children. Their father, Gary, owned an earthmoving business. Rooney attended local schools through year 8, before enrolling at the residential Craighead Diocesan School in Timaru. She later graduated from Christchurch University with a degree in accountancy.

Growing up in Waimate, Rooney shared her family's interest in shooting. At boarding school she was just thirteen when she convinced a teacher to let her and some friends start a shooting team. Rooney devoted a great deal of time to honing her shooting skills at the Timaru Gun Club, and she won a number of junior competitions. In 2007 she participated in the Australian Youth Olympic Festival, where she finished fourth in the women's trap shooting competition. In 2010 the already accomplished Rooney was selected to represent New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. There she saw more success, finishing fifth overall in women's trap shooting and seventh in paired women's trap shooting. Four years later, she returned to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. At the 2014 event, she placed fourth.

Olympic Medallist

According to her family and friends, Rooney's accomplishments as a shooter were the products of persistence and dedication. Following her success at the Commonwealth Games, she found herself on the cusp of competing on the biggest sports stage in the world: the Olympic Games. However, a procedural issue stood in her way.

In 2012, the New Zealand Shooting Federation selected Rooney as its lone competitor for that year's London Olympics. However, her compatriot Ryan Taylor, a prone rifle shooter, appealed the decision to the New Zealand Sports Tribunal, which upheld Taylor's appeal. He made the Olympic team in place of Rooney. Though devastated at the time, Rooney later described the situation as a blessing in disguise. She suggested that at the time of her selection, her skills were still raw and she might not have proceeded far in the competition. For the next four years Rooney committed herself further to the sport and intensified her training.

Within a few years Rooney's hard work paid off. She placed highly at several shooting competitions, even winning the Oceania Shooting Championships, before learning that she was selected—without controversy—to represent New Zealand at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rooney immediately began training for the international competition, including preparing herself for the very warm Brazilian climate. She travelled to Italy and, working with her long-time Italian coach, Andrea Miotti, acclimatised herself to the conditions under which she would compete in Rio.

By the time Rooney arrived in Rio, her world ranking had surged from sixty-fourth to seventh. She quickly advanced through the competition, defeating 2014 Commonwealth Games champion Laetisha Scanlan of Australia and advancing to the finals against another Australian, Catherine Skinner. However, in a shoot-off with Skinner, Rooney fell just short and Skinner captured the gold. Nevertheless, Rooney won the silver medal, New Zealand's first medal of the 2016 Games. She also earned the distinction of being the second New Zealander ever to win an Olympic medal for shooting and the first since 1968.

After her Olympic success, Rooney returned to South Canterbury to help run her family's business. Her new national profile led to frequent requests for media appearances, school visits and other attention. She also continued to train and compete, and in May 2017 she ranked number one in the world for the first time, becoming the first New Zealander to hold that spot.

Impact

Rooney achieved great international success in competitive trap shooting, exemplified by her silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games. She has influenced her home country of New Zealand, and especially her local community, where she earned celebrity status. She made history as the first female New Zealander to win an Olympic medal for shooting and the second New Zealander to do so. Rooney also demonstrated her ongoing success by becoming the first New Zealander to achieve the top world ranking in trap shooting.

Personal Life

Rooney lives in Timaru, where she does accounting for her family's business in her free time. She has attributed her success in part to her family, including her mother, who died of breast cancer in 2013.

Bibliography

"Be the Inspiration: Natalie Rooney." New Zealand Olympic Committee, 2017, www.olympic.org.nz/news/be-the-inspiration-natalie-rooney. Accessed 16 Sept. 2017.

Cropper, Emma. "Natalie Rooney's Friends Chime in on Olympic Dream." Newshub, Media Works TV, 8 Aug. 2016, www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2016/08/natalie-rooneys-friends-chime-in-on-olympic-dream.html. Accessed 16 Sept. 2017.

Hill, Ben. "Rio Olympics 2016: Natalie Rooney Overcomes Devastation to Win New Zealand's First Medal." The New Zealand Herald, 8 Aug. 2016, www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c‗id=4&objectid=11689363. Accessed 16 Sept. 2017.

Lindsay, Brayden. "South Canterbury Shooter Natalie Rooney Named for Rio Olympics to Atone for London Heartbreak." The Timaru Herald, 13 Apr. 2016, www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/sport/78863384/south-canterbury-shooter-natalie-rooney-named-for-rio-olympics-to-atone-for-london-heartbreak. Accessed 16 Sept. 2017.

Piddington, Stu, and Brayden Lindsay. "Trap Shooter Natalie Rooney Has South Canterbury Jumping for Joy after Rio Olympics Silver Medal." Stuff, 8 Aug. 2016, www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/82917321/rooney-has-south-canterbury-jumping-for-joy. Accessed 16 Sept. 2017.

"Rio Olympics 2016: Kiwi Shooter Natalie Rooney Takes Silver." The New Zealand Herald, 8 Aug. 2016, www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c‗id=4&objectid=11689110. Accessed 16 Sept. 2017.

Van Royen, Robert. "Olympic Silver Medallist Natalie Rooney Adjusting to Life after Winning Silver Medal in Rio." Stuff, 28 Sept. 2016, www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/84595940/olympic-silver-medallist-natalie-rooney-adjusting-to-life-after-winning-silver-medal-in-rio. Accessed 16 Sept. 2017.