Franck Dumoulin’s preparations for the Sydney 2000 Olympics 10m air pistol men went somewhat awry the year before when he mistakenly shot himself in the left hand.
Seemingly dissatisfied with this temporary handicap he swiftly compounded it by shattering his leg and breaking an arm in a motorbike accident.
With less than a year to go until the Games began he found himself in a wheelchair.
But he was able to recover sufficiently to compete in Australia and reached the final, where his opponents included the gold, silver and bronze medallists from the Atlanta 1996 Games – respectively Roberto Di Donna of Italy, Wang Yifu of China and Tanyu Kiriakov of Bulgaria.
Dumoulin and Wang entered the final tied having jointly raised the Olympic record by three points to 590. But the Frenchman faltered to an 8.5 with his first shot and fell behind.
Wang remained in the lead after his fourth shot, but in the fifth round Dumoulin outscored his Chinese rival 10.3 to 8.9 and established a lead which he held onto for the rest of the competition. He set an Olympic record of 688.9, finishing three points clear.
Dumoulin was introduced to shooting sport in 1984 when, as an 11-year-old, he received a pellet gun from his father during school holidays. He started practising and soon had to write a school report about his holiday activities. His teacher, who was also a shooter, encouraged him to join a shooting club.
Dumoulin believes that shooting is not just about technique but also about mental strength and concentration. His philosophy is encapsulated in his motto: "There are no problems. Only solutions."
He also developed a unique mental ritual during competition – in order to create a sense of solidity and stability he would visualise the Eiffel Tower. He would also align his shots by imagining a red laser on the target.