Paul Adams to make Olympic debut just months after embarking on new nursing career

PAUL Adams embarked on a new career as a registered nurse at the start of the year - the same year he will represent Australia in skeet shooting in Rio.

REGISTERED nurses know all about hitting the spot with their shots but Paul Adams has taken it to a different level.

Adams is in the midst of a landmark year in his life by starting his new career as a nurse at the Redcliffe Hospital as he prepares to represent Australia in skeet shooting at the Rio Olympics.

This year he will have as many balls in the air as the clay targets he shoots at but his cluttered schedule is a satisfying sort of madness.

Olympic shooter and theatre nurse Paul Adams. Picture: Tara Croser.

“They have been very good to me at the hospital and I told them the first six or seven months of the job will be crazy,’’ Adams said.

Adams journey to Rio started with a single shot from an old rifle on his grandfather’s property in Kilcoy 14 years ago. It hit the black stump he was aiming at and he was hooked.

“Something clicked in my mind ... I loved it,’’ said Adams who is coached by his grandfather Ian Mathieson, who organised the transport pool at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne.

Adams has just returned from Rio where he feels the stadiums are ready but the roads maybe not.

“I got a vibe there is still work to do. The food was amazing and the Brazilian barbecues I would not get enough of but the roads are very congested.

“The range was 35km from my hotel. The best trip I had was 35 minutes and the worst three hours.

“I think they are building a special lane for us during the Games but the roads were average.

“The shooting facility is really nice. It’s almost finished and will look very good.’’

Adams narrowly missed the London Olympics in 2012 and is so determined to do well in Rio he will skip the opening ceremony to train in the US.

Rio’s steamy climate reminded him of home and he hopes will be to his advantage.

“I think the conditions will be like here and Cairns. They are expecting it to be 40 degrees every day.

“I think some of the shooters from the colder climates could struggle a bit. It’s very hot and humid I was very happy with how I shot and it will help the shooters who compete in that weather all the time.’’

Originally published as Paul Adams to make Olympic debut just months after embarking on new nursing career