Thirteen years after winning her last individual gold medal, Zhang Shan, the 43-year-old Chinese sharp-shooting legend, reclaimed her magic - as well as another world championship - on March 5 at the Chile World Cup.

The improbable victory has put Zhang on an equally unlikely path towards China's lone women's skeet-shooting berth at the 2012 London Olympics.

But as a coach on the national team, Zhang's primary objective isn't an Olympic shot for herself - it's a gold medal for her country.

"I've always said when the river rises, the boat floats higher," Zhang said. "Only with enough water can the boat sail fast and stable, and what we are doing now is raising the water. No matter who represents China at the London Olympics - myself, my shooters, or other coaches' shooters - this player must be the one capable of making everybody's efforts pay off."

Zhang's resum is as long as it is groundbreaking.

In 1990, in Beijing, she claimed China's first Asian Games gold medal. In 1992, she shone at the Barcelona Olympics, winning the mixed-sex gold in skeet shooting. She took home her last individual gold - before Chile - at the 1998 ISSF World Cup in Cairo. And last November, she was part of the gold-medal women's skeet team at the Guangzhou Asiad, where she finished fourth in the individual section.

"Our first Asian Games gold came at the 1990 Beijing tournament, and it took us 20 years to win it back," Zhang said. "I'm really confident about our chances at the London Olympics - 20 years after our 1992 Barcelona success."

Zhang is an inspirational icon for the new crop of Chinese shooters. Wei Ning, who finished second at the Athens Olympics, fell in love with the sport after receiving a poster signed by Zhang when she was 15.

"Zhang is my idol," said Wei, who won gold at the Guangzhou Asiad and is among the favorites to take the Olympic title in London if she qualifies ahead of her hero. "When I got the poster she (Zhang) was already an Olympic champion and I set her as my target from that time on."

Meanwhile, Zhang says she hasn't just become a better shooter; she's also becoming a better coach. Each job feeds into the other, which helps explain how she found her way back to a world title after 13 years.

"I felt I was stuck at one place," Zhang said. "I wanted to make some changes to improve myself. Working as a coach with the national team is a good way for me to move forward. On the other hand, with years of experience in this event, I can share my understanding with young shooters."

Coaching isn't any easier than shooting, especially with a highly-skilled team. A 2009 stint coaching India's inexperienced squad taught her just how difficult it can be to train a powerhouse like China.

Even the most basic advice was gobbled up by the shooters in India.

"The Indian shooters have to practice at their own expense," Zhang said. "Some of them still call me or email me for instruction. But in China, the country pays the bills for the athletes, and it puts much more pressure on the shooters, especially in women's skeet, which we are really good at."

Fortunately for Zhang, her husband understands the demands of a shooting team's schedule. She married Australian referee Dexter Barnes in 2004, after meeting him at an event in 1993.

"We have only been together one week in the past three months, but as a coach of a national team, and a shooter as well, we must make some sacrifices," Zhang said.

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