It’s hard to say which of the 2 - champion shooter Jean Foster or a Fisherman’s Wharf mime – spends more hours of the day keeping her body perfectly still. 274 days until the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. While the 2 are very different, they are honing their skills for a similar reason – to attract a precious metal. Foster is hoping her skills of self-control will help land her a gold medal in Sydney in the 3 X 20 rifle competition. Foster, who has won Sydney qualifying spots in the 3 X 20 and women’s air rifle for the U.S. team. “You spend hours and hours practicing remaining still. What you want is to rest the gun on bone-on-bone. You don’t want any muscles touching the rifle. Muscles twitch. They move. Shooting is really all about positioning.” To further isolate the rifle from movement, shooters wear layer after layer of clothing. “The reason we wear so many sweaters, is to muffle the pulse. It’s about support and stability. The layers of clothing help us remain as still as possible. But to have that much self-control requires a great deal of mental and physical training. “You work on doing everything exactly the same every time,” she says. “Each shooter has their own unique routine, but we all use visualization.” “You begin with a few sighting shots. Once you’re satisfied, you push the button (the targets are computerized and pushing the button tells the computer you are ready to begin). You look through the sight, check the wind, do your breathing exercises, make sure your position feels right, mentally picture a ‘10’, and then pull the trigger.”