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The 2009 ISSF Shotgun World Championships has been offically closed. Italy finished atop the medal standings, while the American team shot two new records.

The 2009 ISSF Shotgun World Championship has been closed by today’s Skeet Men Final won by USA’s Vincent HANCOCK. The championship saw the participation of more then 600 shooters coming from 70 countries, the youngest being 12-year old, the oldest 59. The competition took place at the Gaj Shooting Range in the outskirts of Maribor (SLO) from the 6th through the 17th of August.

“In behalf of the ISSF President Mr. Olegario Vazquez Raña and of the ISSF Secretary General Mr. Horst G. Schreiber, I would like to thanks the delegations, the athletes and the Organizing Committee of this ISSF World Championship;” said Mr. Demetris F. Lordos of Cyprus, the ISSF Technical Delegate for this Championship.

“We experienced in a wonderful competition in wonderful city, thank you all!” Concluded Mr. Lordos, greeted by the President of the Organizing Committee, Mr. Igor Rakusa “It was a great honour to host you here, I hope you will bring back good memories of Maribor.” Mr. Rakusa said.

The medal standings: Italy leaded the Championship

The Italian Shotgun team finished atop of the medal standings, winning an impressive total of 15 medals (also considering the team medals). Italy finished in first with the highest number of individual medals: three Gold, two Silver and four Bronzes.

Following in second place, the United States of America secured a total of ten medals, winning one individual Gold and two individual Silver medals. The Russian Federation closed the 2009 ISSF Shotgun World Championship in third place, with a total of six medals, and one individual medal of each colour.

The overral medal standings (including team medals)

The medal standings (individual medals only)

Five new World Records

Five new World Records were established during the 2009 ISSF World Championship, and two World Records were equalled. The United States of America contributed for the most part in the new records set during the competition, with two new World Records and one Equalled World Record.

- New World Records –

Skeet Men Team: 366 Targets – Vincent HANCOCK; Shawn DULOHERY; Frank THOMPSON (USA)

Trap Women Team: 211 Targets – Jessica ROSSI, Deborah GELISIO, Giulia IANNOTTI (ITA)

Trap Women Junior Team: 202 Targets – QI Qiuwen, XU Tian, WANG Yajun (CHN)

Skeet Women Junior: 74 Targets – Therese LUNDQVIST (SWE)

Skeet Women Junior Team: 204 Targets – Amber ENGLISH; Alexander CHIANG; Caitlin CONNER (USA)

- Equalled World Records –

Double Trap Men Team: 430 Targets – Jeffrey HOLGUIN, Joshua RICHMOND, Walton ELLER (USA)

Trap Women: 74 Targets – Satu MAKELA-NUMMELA (FIN)

Next challenge: ISSF World Cup Finals

59 shooters coming from 25 nations qualified to take part in the next ISSF world-level event, this year’s ISSF Shotgun World Cup Final, which will take place in Beijing from the 29^th of October to the 3^rd of November. The match will take place at the Olympic CTF Shooting Range of Beijing, the venue of the last Olympic Games.

Check who qualified for this year’s World Cup Final!

Exactly one year ago Hancock had won the Games of Beijing. He switched back to his old shotgun and came back to victory in Maribor, at the 2009 ISSF Shotgun World Championship.

The 2008 Olympic Champion Vincent HANCOCK of the United States of America is the new Skeet Men World Champion. HANCOCK, 20-year old, won today’s final match with an almost perfect total score of 149 hits out of 150 targets, leaving the Silver medallist ACHILLEOS one target behind him.

No chances to his opponents.
HANCOCK walked into the final round with the highest qualification score of 124 hits out of 125 targets, and defended his leadership by shooting a perfect final of 25 hits, leaving no chances to his opponents. The young American shooter is not new to the World Championship spotlights: he had won the 2005 ISSF World Championship in Lonato (ITA), when he only was 16-year old.

Hancock won by coming back to his Olympic shotgun
“I went back to my old gun. I had changed my shotgun after the Games, but results did not come. I changed back to the shotgun I used in Beijing after the ISSF World Cup stage in San Marino, two months ago.” HANCOCK said right after the final. The American shooter did not shoot an international Gold medal since the Olympic Final of Beijing which took place the 16 of August 2008, exactly one year ago.

“I had done nothing this year, I was not used to it, so it feels great to be on the podium, today” Said HANCOCK, current World and Olympic record holder, Olympic Champion and two times World Champion. “My next appointment with the ISSF is the World Cup Final in Beijing, next October.”

The title defender ended up in second
The title defender, the Cypriot shooter Georgios ACHILLEOS of Cyprus, 28, finished in second place securing Silver with a total score of 148 targets. The Cypriot athlete shot a perfect final, hitting 25 targets, but he had walked into the match with a qualification of 123 hits, one target less than HANCOCK.

Bronze to the 41-year old Falco
Bronze went to the 1996 Olympic Champion of Atlanta, the 41-year old Italian shooter Ennio FALCO, ending up with a total of 147 hits (122+25). The Italian shooter won today his sixth World Championship’s medal out of a 25-year long sport career.

USA’s second finalist, the 44-year old Shawn DULOHERY, 2001 World Champion, finished in fourth place with a total score of 146 hits (122 +24), after missing a determinant target at the first station. Following him, Valery SHOMIN of Russia placed in fifth with a total of 145 targets after outdoing 4 targets to 3 Czech’s Leos HLAVACEK in a shoot-off.

USA atop of the team podium with a new record.

Vincent HANCOCK, together with his teammates Shawn DULOHERY and Frank THOMPSON, won the team Gold with an overall score of 366 hits out of 375 targets, setting a new World Record that shattered the previous 365-record set by the Italian team at the 2006 ISSF World Championship in Zagreb.

USA’s team distanced the followers by four targets. Coming in second, Finland (Marko KEMPPAINEN, Heikki MERILUOTO and Lauri LESKINEN) won the team Silver with a total score of 361 targets.

Team Bronze went to Denmark, thanks to Andres GOLDING, Jesper HANSEN and Michael NIELSEN, scoring a total of 361 targets.

Czech Republic’s Milos Slavicek won the Skeet Men Junior competition, finishing in the lead with one target of advantage on his opponents.

Milos SLAVICEK of Czech Republic is the new Skeet Men Junior World Champion. The 15-year old athlete won today’s competition with a total score of 122 hits out of 125 targets, finishing in first place with one target of advantage on his followers.

SLAVICEK, one of the youngest competitors taking part in this 2009 ISSF Shotgun World Championship, had never participated in a world-level competition, before. The 15-year old Czech athlete debuted on the international scene at the European Championship of Osijek (CRO) twenty days ago, placing in 29th.

SLVAICEK left behind him the 2007 World Championship’s Silver and Bronze medallists Marcus SVENSSON of Sweden and Wilfred BLANCHARD of the USA (the 2007 Junior World Champion Anastasios CHAPESHIS did not come to defend his title).

Marcus SVENSSON finished in second place winning is second consecutive Junior World Championship Silver medal with a total score of 121 +4 hits. The Swedish shooter outdid 4 targets to 3 the Italian athlete Angelo MOSCARIELLO in a shoot-off for the second step of the podium. MOSCARIELLO finished in third, grabbing Silver with a total of 121 +3 targets.

Vesa PIETARILA of Finland, 20, who was leading after the first 75 targets, closed his competition with a last series of 23 hits out of 25 targets. Any single drop can be fatal at the World Championship: the Finnish shooter slid down in the placements, landing in fourth place with a total score of 120 hits out of 125 targets, missing to grab podium just by one clay.

USA’s Wilfed BLANCHARD (Bronze medallist at the last World Championship) ended up in fifth place with a total score of 119 hits, followed by Sweden’s Stefan NILSSON (the 2009 European Junior Champion) who closed in sixth place with a total of 117 targets after beating Russia’s Mikhail DOVGAL in a shoot-off.

Teams: Gold to Czech Republic

SLAVICEK’s Czech Republic won the team Gold medal with an overall score of 353 hits (Milos SLAVICEK, JAkub TOMECEK, Jakub NOVOTA).

Team Silver went to the United States of America (Wilfred BLANCHARD, Jon McGRATH and Chris HAVER), with an combined score of 349 targets. Sweden placed in third winning team Bronze thanks to the 348 hits scored by Marcus SVENSSON, Stefan NILSSON and Robin GUSTAFSSON.

Pietarila has one target of advantage on his followers. Tomorrow, the last 50 targets will decide the podium of the Skeet Men Junior event.

Vesa PIETARILA of Finland leads the Skeet Men Junior event, with one target of advantage on his followers. The 20-year old Finnish athletes only dropped two targets throughout today’s three qualification series, ending up the Day-1 with a score of 73 hits out of 75 targets.

PIETARILA, who took part in two ISSF World Cup Stages shooting neck and neck with Seniors this year, will have to fight to defend his one-target leadership throughout tomorrow’s last two series. Behind him, six shooters tied with a score of 72 hits. (Check the rankins after Day-1).

The Skeet Men Junior competition will continued tomorrow, when the last 50 targets will be thrown.