Natalie Ellen Rooney (born 1 June 1988) is a New Zealand

sport shooter Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such a ...

, competing primarily in

trap shooting Trap shooting, or trapshooting in North America, is one of the three major disciplines of competitive clay pigeon shooting, which is shooting shotguns at clay targets. The other disciplines are skeet shooting and sporting clays. They are disting ...

events. Rooney is from

Waimate Waimate is a town in Canterbury, New Zealand and the seat of Waimate District. It is situated just inland from the eastern coast of the South Island. The town is reached via a short detour west when travelling on State Highway One, the main No ...

in South Canterbury. Her father is Gary Rooney, a prominent businessman involved in earthmoving and irrigation. Her mother, Adrienne Rooney, died in 2013. Rooney attended Waituna Creek School and Waimate High School, before boarding at Craighead Diocesan School in Timaru. Sport runs in her family: her father has represented New Zealand in shooting, her younger brothers Cameron and William represented the country in junior shooting competitions, her older brother Sam was the first who started clay shooting, and her mother was a junior basketball representative. The New Zealand Shooting Federation nominated her for the country's sole quota spot at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, but Ryan Taylor appealed the decision to the New Zealand Sports Tribunal and was sent instead. She competed in the women's trap event at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

and won the silver medal, with gold going to Australia's

Catherine Skinner Catherine Ann Skinner (born 11 February 1990) is an Australian sport shooter. In 2016, she became an Olympic gold medalist. Early life Skinner was born to Ken and Anne Skinner. She has two brothers, Andrew and Craig. Career Skinner won A ...

. She was only the second New Zealand sports shooter to win an Olympic medal, the first being

Ian Ballinger Ian Roy Ballinger (21 October 1925 – 24 December 2008) was a New Zealand shooter who won a bronze medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Ballinger competed at three consecutive Olympic Games (1968, 1972 and 1976) and two Commonwealth Games ( ...

who won bronze in the small-bore rifle at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

International competitions

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rooney, Natalie 1988 births Living people New Zealand female sport shooters Olympic shooters for New Zealand Shooters at the 2016 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Timaru Olympic medalists in shooting Olympic silver medalists for New Zealand Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics People educated at Craighead Diocesan School Shooters at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Shooters at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for New Zealand Shooters at the 2020 Summer Olympics People educated at Waimate High School