The Border shooter was the first eliminated from Wednesday’s six-man double trap final on the Gold Coast.

Willett managed just 23 off his first 30 targets, finishing one short of his next rival and dashing his hopes of a medal.

The afternoon was filled with promise after a solid performance from Willett in the morning’s qualifying session.

He finished fourth after shooting 134 of the 150 targets on offer, three behind the leader and eventual gold medallist, David McMath, of Scotland.

McMath was clinical in the final, hitting 74 of a possible 80 targets to finish ahead of Isle of Man’s Tim Kneale on 70, while Indian Ankur Mittal grabbed bronze.

Wodonga-born diver Kurtis Mathews impressed in the first event of his Commonwealth Games debut, reaching the final of the men’s 1m springboard.

Mathews’ points score of 258.15 was enough for him to progress to the deciding round of the competition in 12^th spot, before improving that to ninth in the final with a total of 367.60.

He’ll also feature in Thursday’s 3m springboard and the 3m men’s synchronised springboard on Friday.

Albury’s Jocelyn Bartram and the Hockeyroos went through the pool phase unbeaten and will contest the semi-finals on Thursday.

Meanwhile, in the para-sport events, Corowa export Josh Thornton helped his side reach the final of the open B6/B7/B8 triples with a strong 15-7 victory against South Africa in Wednesday’s semi-final.

Eliza Ault-Connell did the Border region proud on Tuesday night when she placed fifth in the women’s T54 1500m final.

The wheelchair racer and Albury mother finished in a time of 3:38.88, 16 years after her first Commonwealth Games appearance as a 20-year-old.

Teammate Madison de Rozario won the gold medal in 3:34.06. 

Unlike the Paralympic Games, which runs separately to the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games combines events for both able-bodied and para athletes.