Lower Hutt shooter Sally Johnston put behind her the upheaval of losing her bolt on the trip over to Scotland to win a gold medal in the 50m rifle prone womens final.
The bolt went missing during her journey and left Johnston scrambling around looking for a replacement as her Games competition approached. Eventually one of the volunteers at the shooting range made a 200-mile round trip home to fetch a replacement that suited Johnston.
The New Zealander has a calm, analytical temperament and put the fuss behind her when her competition began today.
She won a thrilling contest by coming through in the sixth and final series to grab the gold from leader Esmari van Reenten of South Africa.
The 44-year-old New Zealander, who works for the Ministry of Primary Industry, peeled off rounds of 102.6, 102.4, 103.4, 104.4, 104.4, 103.5 for a total of 620.7. Van Reenten could manage only 102.7 in her last series to give her a total of 620.1, and that slight slip was enough to let in Johnston.
Johnston was well-placed throughout. Over the final few shots it seemed for a moment as if she would win gold, and then that she might be out of it. Finally it came down to her final shot, when she needed 10 or better. She responded magnificently with a 10.6 and the gold was hers.
As icing on the cake her total was a Commonwealth Games record.
She won a bronze medal in the same event at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.
Watched by her parents, who still live in Invercargill, where she was born, Johnston hardly wavered over the exciting final stages to pick up New Zealands first shooting medal of the Games.
The other New Zealander in the field of 29, Jenna McKenzie, was 14th with a total of 612.2.