\n
1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 16<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
He also explained to us how simultaneous targets should be shot: the first one must be hit quickly, so that there\u2019s enough time and margin left for the second one. He had diagrams with him showing different shooting positions, stands, and angles, to explain the correct aiming direction depending on the shooter\u2019s position. He also showed us the correct mounting of the gun, a detail that, as Sofie herself told us, took her several months to get her body used to, along with the correct body movement depending on the target.<\/p>\n
Renos Charalambous started coaching in 2013. \u201cI started coaching timidly, timidly, in 2013, first with my son.\u201d Thirteen years later, he finds himself preparing a 33-year-old dietitian for her first Grand Prix. \u201cSofia, in the three months she\u2019s been with me, is at a very good level and a very good stage,\u201d he says, although he admits that at first he wasn\u2019t sure what to expect. \u201cAt first with Sofie I thought she would struggle. But when someone has talent and likes what they\u2019re doing, they\u2019ll do everything to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the Cyprus Grand Prix, Sofie will compete under the colors of the Czech Republic, since she holds Czech citizenship. \u201cI tried to register her with the Cyprus Federation, but it\u2019s difficult. She can register, but she\u2019ll compete as a guest,\u201d her coach explains. Even so, she feels she represents more than just one flag: \u201cI have the Czech flag on my vest, because I\u2019m a Czech national. But at the same time I feel that I also represent my coach, and it\u2019s very nice that I feel I partly represent Cyprus too, because my journey started here and I feel it\u2019s like a second home to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Sofie25\"](\"https:\/\/shootandgoal.cyprustimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SOFIE25.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
When we asked her coach what it was like for him to train a 33-year-old who had only just picked up a rifle for the first time, he replied that he\u2019s willing to accept any new athlete, as long as they have enthusiasm and some talent. \u201cI\u2019m ready to start training anyone who wants to, as long as they want to do it and have enthusiasm, and have a bit of talent too. Shooting needs a bit of talent too. You see the talent as things progress.\u201d<\/p>\n
He himself sets no age limits: \u201cThey can compete for as long as they feel good doing this sport, as long as they have a health certificate with the Federation. We have athletes over 75 years old who still go to international competitions. I\u2019m 59 and I feel 40.\u201d He himself got into competitive coaching relatively recently, in the last two to three years, but what satisfies him most today is something else: \u201cWhat I like most now is training people and producing champions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Technically, Mr. Georgiades stresses that what a shooter needs most isn\u2019t the hand, but the mind and the eyes: \u201cWhat someone needs most is the mind and the eyes. Many people who start shooting don\u2019t know that they need to shoot with their dominant eye, the so-called master eye. We find the master eye with tests we do. You see the image in its true position. In shooting you compete with both eyes open, because with one eye closed your reflexes are greatly reduced.\u201d<\/p>\n
The psychological part, as Sofie\u2019s own experience shows, is equally decisive, especially during a competition: \u201cThe psychology issue is an important factor that we work on more during competitions. To keep your self-confidence during a competition, we try to place more emphasis on their own program and their own targets, and to make sure they don\u2019t learn the results of other athletes during the competition. I don\u2019t want Sofie to know the results of others, so she doesn\u2019t lose her self-confidence.\u201d Even during the pauses between shots, this logic doesn\u2019t change: \u201cDuring the waiting time we have rest time and we\u2019re not interested in anything else. I might take a look, but never my athlete.\u201d And he has a story that explains why he insists on this so much: \u201cThere was a time when I had an athlete who was in fifth place and finished second\u2014if I had told him the result beforehand, maybe he wouldn\u2019t have finished there.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Sofie44\"](\"https:\/\/shootandgoal.cyprustimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SOFIE44.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
We asked the coach whether he trains a woman differently than a man. \u201cIt\u2019s the same thing to train a girl as a man. It\u2019s the way we start a training session and the techniques on the targets that exist. I always keep a steady approach with both men and women, I\u2019m a bit strict and I try to keep them focused on the targets and on what I tell them,\u201d he replies. He is, however, critical of the sport\u2019s institutional support: \u201cThe Cyprus Sports Organisation (KOA) doesn\u2019t help very much financially. Even though we have a lot of talent, I believe KOA doesn\u2019t help as much as it should\u2014they place more emphasis on the Olympic shooting disciplines.\u201d<\/p>\n
But how demanding is a training session he does with Sofie? \u201cIn a typical training session with Sofie we do 100 targets. In international competitions it\u2019s 200 targets, over four days, 50 targets a day.\u201d And as for what success would mean for Sofie at the upcoming Cyprus Grand Prix, he puts a number on it: \u201cFor Sofie, based on my experience, a good result at the next major competition would be to hit over 170 targets. She can achieve that.\u201d The point that needs work, he concludes, is specific: \u201cSofie needs to further improve her stance and her performance on double and simultaneous targets.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Sofie herself, the coach\u2019s role goes beyond technique. \u201cI have huge support from my coach. Because I think a good coach isn\u2019t only about technique. It\u2019s also about finding the right words. But at the same time, it\u2019s about being honest. So especially on bad days, I feel that even when he gives me honest feedback about what\u2019s going on, he usually finds the right words to support me. And he always finds something positive, even on a bad day. That supports me a lot,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
She still remembers Renos\u2019s first reaction, when she told him she wanted to become a shooter: \u201cHe told me: \u2018I see how you shoot, you\u2019re the next champion.\u2019 I thought he was joking. I was laughing. I was like, okay, thank you very much. And he continued: \u2018So I\u2019m waiting for you for training. Let\u2019s start. We\u2019ll do this.\u2019 He was so sure about it that I thought\u2014let\u2019s give it a try.’\u201d<\/p>\n
At no point, in fact, did she feel that her coach thought she was unprepared because she started late. \u201cNot at all. He was very, very supportive. He told me about all the champions he had trained, about everyone who trains at the range. He introduced me to other very good shooters. They have very interesting training sessions all the time, different programs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond shooting, her coach also became something of a bridge to Cyprus. They train three times a week, and he himself picks her up and brings her from her home to the range\u2014and along the way, he teaches her Greek. \u201cHe\u2019s not just my coach at the range. He helps me learn Greek, he helps me feel closer to the community. We have a great relationship. He\u2019s Cypriot. And he helps me feel closer to the community. And that\u2019s a very important part.\u201d<\/p>\n
She Learned Things About Herself She Didn\u2019t Know<\/strong><\/p>\nShooting, Sofie tells us, revealed a side of herself she didn\u2019t know. \u201cI think I\u2019m now discovering a completely new version of myself,\u201d she says. \u201cBecause I can say that in my professional life, in my career, as I said, I like difficult challenges and I know how to stay focused. But this is something completely new. I\u2019m discovering a version of myself in a competitive sporting environment. And I\u2019m still learning to be more focused, calmer, and more patient. I\u2019m still learning to manage my emotions when I miss a target. So this is absolutely a new version of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Sofie8\"](\"https:\/\/shootandgoal.cyprustimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SOFIE8.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
This change, she says, doesn\u2019t stay confined to the range. \u201cNow, shooting isn\u2019t something that only exists at the range. Most of my life now has to do with shooting. I come home and talk about my training. I watch videos of other shooters on the internet, because it really helps me improve,\u201d she says, explaining how her Instagram blog connected her with other athletes in the sport. \u201cWhen I started my blog on Instagram, I started following other shooters, and all the time I discover something new. I\u2019m constantly learning, and my mind is always on flying targets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the intensity of her new \u201csecond life\u201d here in Cyprus, Sofie says she hasn\u2019t had to sacrifice almost anything from her professional life. \u201cTo be honest, not much,\u201d she says. She left behind some big projects she had in the Czech Republic, but she had already decided to do that before she even started shooting: \u201cI left some big projects I had in the Czech Republic, but I left them before I started shooting, because I decided it was time to start something new and focus more on my personal life and on clinical nutrition.\u201d She continues to have clients in nutritional therapy programs and maintains her own team of nutritionists who work with clients, precisely because she wanted more time for herself. \u201cBut now I\u2019ve started spending time with shooters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her own professional knowledge, in fact, now proves useful to her in a completely different way. \u201cYes, I think it helps a lot, honestly, because I understand my body, I understand physiology, I understand what the right nutrition looks like. Before, I helped my clients achieve something in sports, and now I\u2019m my own client. It helps a lot. Of course, it doesn\u2019t help on the range when you\u2019re shooting clays, but at home, for example, I understand what I need to eat, how to eat right, how to recover properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
She even uses an entire system of technological tools to monitor her health: \u201cI use various gadgets to look after my health. I wear a continuous glucose monitor, so I can see how sports activity affects my blood sugar, and so on.\u201d She also systematically monitors her blood biomarkers. \u201cI understand, of course, how to read my blood markers and I check all of them. I take vitamins, etc.\u201d Thanks to her background in digital health\u2014a combination of technology and medicine\u2014she has built, on her own, through coding, her own \u201csmart\u201d system that brings all this data together in one place. \u201cSo it\u2019s very interesting, because I have real-time information about my health.\u201d And she adds: \u201cBefore I worked with clients and saw this thing, and now I\u2019m working with myself\u2014it\u2019s very interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Sofie13\"](\"https:\/\/shootandgoal.cyprustimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SOFIE13.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
We asked whether all this systematic monitoring\u2014nutrition, sleep, everything\u2014doesn\u2019t ultimately stop her from living her life more freely. \u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t feel that way. Yes, I monitor a lot of things, I control a lot of things. But at the same time, maybe because I already knew all of this, it\u2019s not that difficult for me. And basically I have the feeling that now I\u2019m living my life to the fullest. I\u2019m so curious about everything that\u2019s happening. So yes, I think that now I\u2019m living my life to the fullest.\u201d<\/p>\n
This, however, doesn\u2019t mean she has become ascetic. We asked whether she can still loosen her rules a bit\u2014one dinner, one night out\u2014now that she\u2019s preparing for the Grand Prix and has a tight schedule. \u201cYes, of course I can. I don\u2019t drink alcohol at all. I don\u2019t smoke. And to be honest, I don\u2019t usually go out late. But I don\u2019t think that\u2019s because of the training, it\u2019s just the lifestyle I live. But yes, of course, I can eat a very sweet dessert together with Cypriot coffee (laughs). And of course, I can spoil myself sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it isn\u2019t, as she herself has now discovered, as easy to follow her own health advice as it is to give it to others as part of her job. \u201cI think it\u2019s harder, because when I work with a client, the client has me and can rely on me. They can text me their questions. I support them and they\u2019re not alone on their journey. And here, on my own journey, on this nutritional side, it\u2019s just me and me. I have to be motivated enough to do this even when no one is watching. So yes, I think that\u2019s a bit harder.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sofie\u2019s clinical experience isn\u2019t limited to adult athletes. In the Czech Republic she had clients who were professional athletes from different sports, but also children. \u201cI had professional athlete clients, I also had children.\u201d Her work with young athletes, as she explains, has its own particularities: \u201cIn children\u2019s nutrition, I mostly had athletes. And it\u2019s a very delicate subject, because the child is growing very fast. At the same time, they\u2019re spending a huge amount of energy in training. And you need to balance all of that with nutrition.\u201d<\/p>\n
One issue she finds particularly sensitive is childhood obesity, a problem that, as she discovered, isn\u2019t limited to the Czech Republic. \u201cI also have a lot of children with obesity, which is a big problem. And I discovered that here in Cyprus it\u2019s also a very big problem. Right now Cyprus is number one in Europe in childhood obesity.\u201d She intends to continue working as a dietitian in this area too: \u201cI think I\u2019ll continue working as a dietitian. I\u2019ll definitely work with athletes. And I also want to promote this active lifestyle, sports, for adults, and of course for children too.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Sofie1\"](\"https:\/\/shootandgoal.cyprustimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SOFIE1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The Conscious Choice Behind Her \u201cJourney\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nSofie\u2019s Instagram isn\u2019t the showcase of an already successful athlete\u2014it\u2019s exactly the opposite, and that was a conscious choice on her part. \u201cI think most people show something only after they\u2019ve already succeeded. And maybe it\u2019s easier to show something when you\u2019re already successful or a professional,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I decided to invite people to follow my journey while I\u2019m still not good at it. I decided to invite them to come along with me and see where this journey takes me.\u201d At first, she admits, it was difficult precisely because it meant publicly showing that she\u2019s a beginner. But the response convinced her to continue: \u201cWhen I started, I had huge support from different shooters all over the world. And I decided to continue, because it was very, very nice of them. So, as I said, the shooting community is very friendly, very supportive, even within a competition.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think my story is really about starting something new, even if you\u2019re afraid to do it. The same goes for my blog. If my blog helps someone start something they were afraid of, something they always wanted but never started\u2014not necessarily shooting, maybe something else\u2014then I think my story would already be worth telling,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n
We asked Sofie whether she had ever faced negative comments for being a woman in a sport that many consider \u201cmasculine.\u201d Her answer wasn\u2019t only about shooting: \u201cI haven\u2019t had negative comments about that, but I think I\u2019ll be happy, over the next five years, to help make shooting more popular among women, because I believe women don\u2019t have to have just one role their entire life. You can be a woman, you can be feminine, and at the same time you can be strong. You can be a dietitian and you can be a shooter. You can be whatever you want to be. Because only you can decide what you\u2019re capable of, where your limits are, and what you can achieve in your life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 9<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
In our conversation with her, we asked what she thinks will be the biggest obstacle on her path. \u201cI think I don\u2019t have illusions about my journey, that it won\u2019t be without obstacles, and I think I face obstacles every day, at every training session. I think it has to do with mindset, so I\u2019m ready to continue my journey even when it\u2019s hard and even when it feels impossible, because sometimes it does feel impossible. So I think these are obstacles\u2014there will be obstacles.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were some days when I came home very tired and realized I could have done better, that I could have hit the target I didn\u2019t hit, and it\u2019s very emotional, and sometimes it\u2019s very hard to deal with these emotions.\u201d The solution, however, is always the same: \u201cBut I think it\u2019s about coming back to the range after these days, and I will keep coming back all the time, and I think that\u2019s the most important thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the Cyprus Grand Prix approaching, Sofie doesn\u2019t pretend she isn\u2019t feeling anxious. \u201cI would be lying if I said there\u2019s no pressure, or that I\u2019m not nervous. Of course I\u2019m nervous. There is pressure,\u201d she admits. \u201cAnd sometimes I just try not to think about it. I try to focus on the specific date. On the specific training sessions. And on the specific targets I need to learn and improve. And to be honest, I have a lot of support. I have a lot of support at home. And I have huge support from my coach.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Grand Prix itself, however, she doesn\u2019t see as a final destination, but as a milestone. \u201cThe Grand Prix isn\u2019t the final destination. It\u2019s a very important milestone for me. Because it\u2019s going to be a big, serious competition. But of course, it\u2019s not the final destination. And afterward I\u2019ll be preparing for other competitions.\u201d Her coach himself, in fact, already has a plan for the future: \u201cWhen I come to the range, my coach very often tells me, \u2018don\u2019t forget that next year we\u2019re going to Italy, we\u2019re going to the Czech Republic, we\u2019re going to Greece.\u2019 He already has a plan of competitions we\u2019re going to shoot. But of course, right now I\u2019m trying to focus only on the Cyprus Grand Prix.\u201d Her goal for this year\u2019s event is clear: \u201cI want to be as good as I can be. Because I\u2019m really taking this seriously, I want to be on the podium one day. I want medals. And I want to achieve all of this, because I\u2019m really taking it seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
Five years from now, she imagines herself more experienced, much improved. \u201cI would be lying if I didn\u2019t say I see myself with some big and important achievements. I think five years is more than enough, if you train hard, to achieve something. And that\u2019s my plan. It\u2019s a big journey and I want to enjoy it, because it\u2019s not only about the final destination, the medals or the podiums. Of course I want those too, but I want to enjoy this journey, to improve myself, to build a good community of shooters that promotes an active lifestyle, shooting, proper nutrition, an active and healthy life. That\u2019s one of my main goals, honestly. And that\u2019s what I want to do over these next five years\u2014not just shoot for medals.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Armenochori, as that day\u2019s training session came to an end, Renos Charalambous watched her prepare her gun for one more round of targets. A few months earlier, she was simply a woman who had never held a gun in her hands. In October, she will stand on the firing line of a Grand Prix, with 200 targets in front of her.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u200b\u00a0
![\"Sofie5\"](\"https:\/\/shootandgoal.cyprustimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SOFIE5-200x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Sofie45\"](\"https:\/\/shootandgoal.cyprustimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SOFIE45.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Sofie9\"](\"https:\/\/shootandgoal.cyprustimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SOFIE9.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Sofie3\"](\"https:\/\/shootandgoal.cyprustimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SOFIE3.jpg\")
<\/p>\n