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A record score of 400 points marked by Gauss during the qualifications was not enough to beat the home shooter Pfeilschifter, who climbed up in the lead with an excellent final score of 105.1 points.

The home shooter Sonja Pfeilschifter won the first 10m Air Rifle Women final at the IWK competition in Munich, outscoring her teammate Beate Gauss. Pfeilschifter, who had entered the match in third place with 399 points after the qualifications, climbed up in the lead on the third last shot of final. With a total score of 504.1 points, the German athlete finished on the highest step of the podium, winning her first international medal of the season with 1.0 point of advantage on her teammate Gauss.

Pfeilschifter secured the brightest medal thanks to an excellent final score of 105.1 points. But the Bavarian athlete did not seem to be surprised. “This is not my best final, this year”. She commented, right after the last competition shot. How is it possible? The season has just started! “I marked a 105.8 just a few days ago, at the European Championship’s selection match of the German team. – Explained the champion. “And it was easier to compete here, at the IWK, as I had no pressure.”

“I feel extremely good. We have already won all the Olympic Quota Places for London at the World Championship;” Pfeilschifter said about the 2011 shooting season.

“I will concentrate on the European Championship, which are going to take place in Brescia, Italy, next March”. Sonja added “Then, I will probably participate in the ISSF World Cup Stage in Fort Benning, USA”.

Her teammate, Beate Gauss, followed in second place, securing the Silver medal with a total score of 503.1 points. The German sharpshooter had started the final match in the lead with an outstanding score of 400 points. But that equalled world record was not enough to beat Pfeilschifter. After marking a frustrating 9.6 at her seventh final shot, Gauss slid down in second place, eventually ending up with the Silver. Following her, Petya Lukanova from Bulgaria finished in third securing the Bronze with 501.8 points.

The 10m Air Rifle Women event has certainly been played on the thin line of small point-tenth, as the three medallists finished on the podium divided just by 0.7 points. Daya SHYTKO of Ukraine won her first medal ever with 502.7 points, followed by the current world record holder Sonja Pfeilschifter and by the second German finalist Beate Gauss, third with 502.0 points.

Gold to Ukraine’s Darya Shytko:
Darya SHYTKO of Ukraine, 23-year old, won the 10m Air Rifle Women event at the ISSF World Cup in Munich, ending the final round in first place with a total score of 502.7 points. Shytko qualified for the final match with a score of 399 points, shooting then 103.7 points throughout the ten final shots.

The Ukrainian shooter had never won a world cup final round before, and her best placement so far had been an eighth place gained at last year’s World Cup stage held here in Munich. Table turned in the last 12 months: Shytko had finished in eight and last place at last year’s match leaded by Sonja Pfeilschifter of Germany, and she won today’s Gold by overtaking the same Pfeilschifter at the last shot.

Local hero Pfeilschifter in second
By shooting Gold, Ukraine’s Shytko upset the world record holder Sonja Pfeilschifter of Germany, who had won the last edition of the ISSF World Cup in Munich in 2008. Pfeilschifter (38) could not keep up with her younger rival in spite of having a clear home-court advantage, and eventually concluded the final match in second place winning Silver with 502.3 points (399+103.3).

The left-handed Pfeilschifter added today’s Silver medal to her consistent awards collection. Next to three World Championship gold medal, the 38-year old shooter has won the impressive number of 11 World Cup Stages and 3 different World Cup Finals. She had won her last ISSF Gold medal at the 2008 World Cup stage held in Milan.

Two German shooters climbed the podium: Bronze to Gauss
The German team also celebrated the Bronze medal won by Beate GAUSS, 24-year old, #22 in the current world ranking. She placed in third winning Bronze with 502.0 (399+103.0) points.

The third German finalist, the 2008 gold medallist of the world cup stage in Rio de Janeiro Barbara Lechner (26) fired a frustrating 8.7 on her fifth competition shot, landing in eighth place behind USA’s Jamie BEYERLE (seventh), and Czech’s Pavla KALNA (sixth)

The Olympic Silver medallist Lioubov GALKINA of Russia finished in fifth place with a total score of 500.9 (398+102.9) points.