Coming out of the final hall on a wheelchair, the shooter appeared calm, but his eyes were a little bit red.
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Jason Maroney [APC]
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Seeing his teammates waiting outside, Jason Maroney managed to force a smile.
"It was really tough... but I tried my best," said the 41-year-old Aussie after a fierce competition of mixed 10-meter air rifle prone.
AN OUTLET
Maroney grew up on a farm of Wangaratta and became independent at early age when his parents split.
When he was 12 or 13, the boy started shooting, with the primary goal to hunt rabbits so as to feed his dogs and himself.
"I could catch something all the time," he recalled with a bit of pride.
Later the man joined the army, living a life which he described as "wild". Tucking up his sleeves, he showed his tattoos: on the left arm there was a fairy and on the right were an eagle and a ram, which was mascot of the army.
More tattoos might have been made had Maroney not be caught in a disaster at the age of 22.
"I was driving a car after drinking and a traffic accident broke my neck," the soft-spoken shooter was like telling a tragic story of someone else.
But only he himself knew the taste of the anger, depression and despair after such a miserable experience.
"I simply couldn't accept the fact, from a young person with bright future to be stopped on the track," he said.
Since then, he drank a lot. Only when he got drunk could the man forget his pain temporarily.
The decadence lasted for a long period, before Maroney realized that he couldn't live like that anymore.
"Life has to go on anyway, and I should do as much as I can." His nature of obstinacy was finally awakened.
When he was at a loss as what he could do as a disabled, the idea of shooting occurred to him again.
It was like an outlet.
"In the sport, I could get focused," he said, "there are always challenges and I need to better myself."
"Shooting makes me happy," he said.
In competitions, Maroney gradually met with more people worldwide, some of whom shared similar experience as his. He hence became optimistic.