The 23-year-old shooter was the first Israeli to secure his place at the
Olympics after finishing second in the 10- meter air rifle World Cup event in
Changwon, South Korea in April of last year.
He has showed plenty of
promise since, finishing in sixth place in the 10m air rifle competition at this
year’s European Championships while ending the World Cup event at the Olympic
venue at the Royal Artillery Barracks in second.
Richter also shares the
junior world record in the 10m air rifle, recording a result of 599 out of
600.
Shooting rarely makes headlines, but Richter’s exploits attracted
interest earlier this year when he decided to raise money from the public to
help fund his Olympic dream and fully focus on his sport ahead of
London.
He targeted a sum of NIS 50,000, but has so far raised 54,000 via
the web.
Richter is very young by shooting standards, but he will be
getting advice from the best possible source in London, with his coach Guy
Starik one of only two Israelis to compete in four Olympics.
Despite
being a world record holder and former European Champion, Starik failed to
translate his talent to Olympic success.
Perhaps the student will surpass
the master.
