Veronique Girardet (picture), of France, overcame more than rain in Thursday's Olympic skeet shooting. The former world champion from Saint-Laurent-du-Var, blinded in one eye by cancer from the age of two, was competing in her first Olympics - at the age of 42.

Undaunted by the damp and difficult conditions on the Beijing shooting range that drove scores down, Girardet shot a 63 out of a possible 75 for 16th place, missing the finals by six targets.

"Unlike the other shooters I don't have peripheral vision and I don't have depth perception because of my eye," Girardet said after being eliminated in the qualifying round.

She said she did not need any special training or equipment.

"I have a different strategy - I stand back a little to get a better perspective," added Girardet, who is blind in her left eye. "Shooting in the middle position is the most difficult for me, especially getting the targets flying from the left."

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