Patrick Azzopardi, a member of the On Target Shooting Club, won two events during a 300m benchrest competition in Sicily on Sunday.

The Maltese shooter also established a new record on the 300-metre five-shot grouping with a superb shot of 2.6cm, bettering the 3.1cm mark set by Gianlucio Scerbo last year in Ragusa.

Pedalino duo Giovanni Canzonieri (29.90mm) and Sebastiano Migliorisi (32.60mm) placed second and third respectively.

Seventeen shooters, including four from Malta, took part in last weekend’s event, organised by the Federazione Siciliana Tiro Sportivo.

The final competition determined the winner in the custom open 300m benchrest category. The event was held in constant rain and inclement weather.

The second competition on the card was the sharp shooter, based on a small target of 3cm at a distance of 300m with competitors allowed one shot in one minute.

Twelve shooters took part in this competition but only three hit the small target as visibility was poor due to the weather conditions.

Azzopardi finished first ahead of Rosario Lacono, from Ispica, and Catania marksman Giuseppe Carbone.

The third and last event was based on 10 shots on five targets in a 10-minute period.

In the first set, Azzopardi managed 87 points from 100 before improving 93+2 in the second round to place third in the competition.

Azzopardi was declared overall winner with a total of 42 points, two ahead of the close runner-up Migliorisi.

Gaetano Brancato, who finished third on Sunday on 37 points, was declared 2013 champion.

The other Maltese shooters in the Sicilian competition were Vince Calleja, who placed 11th, Louis Deguara, 15th, and Mario Mifsud, 16th.