Archerfish.org

Xie Jieqiong secured Gold, followed by the 2008 Olympic Champ Katerina Emmons and her teammate Adela Sykorova of Czech Republic, who both gained and Olympic Quota Place. Korea’s Gu equalled the world record, but finished in 7th and lost the Quota.

Once again, the 1972 Olympic Shooting Range of Munich turned out to be a perfect stage for outstanding performances in 10m Air Rifle events.

The world record of 400 points was equalled, and 398 qualification points were not enough to access the final, today, when a shoot-off turned out to be necessary to draw the final start-list of the 10m Air Rifle Women final at the 2011 ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup in Munich.

China’s Xie Jieqiong, 22, won the brightest medal with a total score of 503.5 points after a tight final. The young Chinese shooter entered the medal match in third place, tied to the local champion Sonja Pfeilschifter with 399 qualification points. Starting off with a great 10.9-point first shot, the young Chinese shooter stepped up in first place, overtaking Sura Gu of Korea, who had equalled the world record of 400 points during the qualifications.

Xie, ranked 29^th in the world, only competed three times within the frame of the ISSF Word Cup Series, before, finishing two times on the podium in 2009.  By scoring 104.5 points during today’s final, she beat Czech Republic’s Katerina Emmons and Adela Sykorova, winning her first ISSF Gold ever.

Olympic Quotas: Czech Republic and Denmark celebrate

The two Czech teammates finished on the podium in second and third place, both securing an Olympic Quota Place to participate in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The reigning Olympic Champion Katerina Emmons, 27, came back to an ISSF World Cup podium, today. After making it to the final in seventh place with 398 points, she climbed up the scoreboard ending up in second place with 501.8 points.

Her 24-year old teammate Adela Sykorova closed the match in third place behind her, ending up on the podium with 501.0 points and securing the second Olympic Quota for Czech Republic in this event.

The third Olympic Quota Place assigned by the ISSF today was won by a first time finalist form Denmark, Anette Jensen, 24. After scoring 398 points in the qualification rounds, and passing through a shoot-off, she ended up in fourth place with 500.9 points. 0.1 points far from the podium, but enough to qualify for the 2012 Games.

Three German Shooters in the final

Three German shooters made it to the final round, today: Sonja Pfeilschifter, Beate Gauss and Jessica Mager tried to conquest a spot on the podium, on the lines of their home range.

The local hero, Bavaria’s Sonja Pfeilschifter, started the final round in second place, one point behind the qualification’s surprise: Korea’s Gu, who had equalled the world record to start in first with 400 points. Then, marking 101.2 points during the final, the left-handed German shooter landed in sixth place with a total score of 500.2 points, far from the medals. Quite a delusion, for her. Pfeilschifter, 40, had won her firth ISSF World Cup Gold medal right here in Munich, in 1991. And on these lines, she had also won her last one, the 2010 World Cup Final gold, just a few months ago.

Her teammate Beate Gauss, 26, started the match from the fifth position on the start list, after squeezing into the match through a shoot-off with 398 points. She eventually finished in fifth, with 500.3 points, after scoring 102.3 points during the final round.

At the same time, the third German finalist, Jessica Mager, 23 – a two time European Junior champion in 2007 and 2008 – closed the match in eight place with 499.7 points.

Korea’s Gu shot a world record, but ended 7th with no Quota

A 23-year old Korean shooter, Sura Gu, turned out to be the unlucky finalist, today.  The young Korean shooter stole the show during the qualifications’ by making it into the final round with an exceptional score of 400 points, an equalled world record.

But then, starting off the final with a 9.8-point shot, she dropped down in the scoreboard, eventually finishing in seventh place with a total score of 499.8 points, missing the Olympic Quota Place she was competing for.

Gu, ranked 52 in the world ranking, had only made it once into an ISSF World Cup final round, in Sydney last year, where she finished in eight and last place.

Germany’s Pfeilschifter and Gauss duelled right to the last shot for the 2010 ISSF World Cup title in the 10m Air Rifle Women event

It has been the last shot to decide the podium placements of the 10m Air Rifle Women final, at the ISSF World Cup Final in Rifle and Pistol event in Munich, where a German duel kept the Bavarian spectator breathless right to the end.

The two home ahtletes, Germany’s Beate Gauss and Sonja Pfeilschifter, from Baden and Bavaria respectively, fought throughout the whole final match, trying to secure the brightest medal tenth after tenth.

Gauss, who had made it into the final with a great world record score of 400 points, had a one-point lead over her teammate Pfeilschifter after the qualifications. But, as the final match started, the two German shooters exchanged their positions in first and second place several times.

After the ninth shot, it was Gauss who was leading with 0.9 points of advantage. But it was then the tenth and last shot that decided the match in favour of Pfeilschifeter, who scored an outstanding 10.7 beating Gauss’s 9.4, triggering the applauses of the Bavarian audience.

Sonja Pfeilschifer, 39, secured the title with a total score of 503.5 points, winning her fourth World Cup Final on the lines of the 1972 Olympic Shooting Range of Munich (she had won three consecutive World Cup Final editions held here in 1999, 2000 and 2001).

26-year old Beate Gauss, ranked third in the world, had qualified for this year’s ISSF World Cup Final by securing a Bronze medal at the World Cup Stage held in Beijing, and by competing in the World Championship final match. During the morning’s qualifications, she ranked first with a great 400-point score, but after firing that disappointing 9.4-shot she landed in second place, grabbing the Silver medal with a total of 503.1 points, just two tenths far from Pfeilschifter.

While the two home shooters were duelling for the top of the podium, the battle for Bronze kept the TV spectator’s breath. Katerina Emmons of Czech Republic, Eliana Nardelli of Italy and Jamie Bayerle of USA fought indeed right to the end for the last spot on Munich’s podium.

The 2008 Olympic Champion Katerina Emmons came back to an ISSF World Cup Final after missing since 2007. The Czech shooter qualified to participate in this match by winning a World Cup Stage in Sydney, at the beginning of the season. With 397 qualification points, she made it into the final match in third place, but then closed the round in fifth with a total of 498.6 points after nailing two consecutive 9.8 shots.

The battle for Bronze finished in a shoot-off between Elania Nardelli, today’s youngest finalist, and USA’s Jamie Beyerle, one of the protagonists of this year’s ISSF World Cup Series.

And it was the experienced Beyerle who secured the Bronze, winning the shoot-off 10.5 to 9.8, finishing on the podium with a total of 499.2 + 10.5 points, and leaving Nardelli in fourth with a total score of 499.2 + 9.8 points.

Go Dowon won Korea’s second Youth Olympics Gold medal in shooting events, securing the highest step of the podium at the last shot.

Korea’s Go Dowon snatched the last Shooting Sport gold medal on the lines of the Singapore Sport School at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games as she won the 10m Air Rifle Women Junior event today.

Go, who had made it into the final round in second place with a qualification score of 397 points, jumped atop of the standings after scoring 10.4 with her second shot, also taking advantage of mistake of the qualification’s leader, who fired a frustrating 8.1 on her first competition shot.

Go’s brilliant last two shots, a 10.6 and a 10.7, clinched victory with a total score of 500.1 (397+103.1) points.

“It’s great to be on this podium! I will try my best to succeed in other international competitions, as my dream is to participate in the Olympic Games!” the young Korean shooter said after the award ceremony.

“I wasn’t expecting this result, — continued Korean athlete, speaking about today’s final, — I was very nervous from the beginning and it didn’t ease off, so it was quite difficult because I was constantly nervous.”

Gabriela Vognarova of the Czech Republic took the silver medal with a total of 498.6 points. The Czech was tied with Go after both recorded a score of 9.9 with their first shots of the final, and she wrapped up a great performance with a 10.8 on her 10th and final shot, ending up on the second step of the podium with a total score of 498.6 (397+101.6) points.

“Between the qualification round and the final I was singing songs,” she said. “I do it a lot, because it helps me calm down. I sing whatever comes into my head. Today, I was singing disco!”

Jasmin Mischler of Switzerland claimed bronze with an overall of 498.1 (395+103.1) points after a tense battle for third against Germany’s Yvonne Schlotterbeck, the qualification’s leader. The 18-year old Swiss shooter came through in her last four shots to secure her position on the podium with three tenths of advantage on her opponents. “I didn’t even expect to win a bronze medal but my strategy was to just fight to the end,” the 18-year-old said.

Today’s turned out to be an unlucky final for Germany’s Yvonne Schlotterbeck. The 17-year old shooter, usually competing in small bore international competition, gave her best during the qualification rounds.

Shooting in the lead since the first series, the German athlete nailed a 39 tens, missing then the world record of 400 out of 400 points by one point, as she fired a 9 on her last qualification shot.

Entering the final round in the lead with 399 points, Schlotterbeck wasted her two-point head start on her very first final shot, by firing a frustrating 8.1 which eventually relegated her in fourth place with a total score of 497.8 (399+98.8) points.

“My first five shots were bad but my next five were better. I’m a bit sad to come fourth, because I was in first place,” the young German shooter said.

Her coach, Claudia Kulla (GER), said her young charge had shown what she was capable of in the qualification.

“I think what happened in the final was simply due to lack of experience. She has never been in such a big final,” Kulla said. “In the qualification, she was the queen of hearts and showed she was a master of discipline and patience.”

“But no worries” the coach said. Experience will come with the years, and it’s now time for Yvonne to compete for a spot in the Olympic Games.

Yi Siling of China, 21, scored a poker today in Munich, while competing at the 50th ISSF World Championship in all shooting events, the first Olympic qualifier event for the 2012 Games.

China’s Yi Siling, 21, won four times, today, as she claimed the Gold medal (becoming the new World Champion), she secured an Olympic Quota place (a pass for the next Games), she set a new final world record (505.6 points), and finally beat her teammate Wu Liuxi, who had outscored her several times in the last two seasons.

It was clear that this was going to be a great day for Yi since the morning’s qualifications, as she made it to the final with an equalled world record, a perfect score of 400 out of 400 points. Then, shooting in the lead form the first to the tenth and last shot, she scored 105.6 points more during the final round, totalizing an impressive new world record of 505.6 points.

Her victory turned into a bittersweet entertainment for hundreds of paying spectators who followed the match here in Munich. If they were delighted by Yi’s great performance (she shot an average higher the 10.5 points per shot), on the other side they were disappointed as her new world record beat the previous record of 505.0 points set by the local hero, Munich’s Sonja Pfeilschifter, two years ago at the Milan’s World Cup. Pfeilschifter, who everybody here expected to stand upon today’s podium, did not make it, ending up in 16th place with a frustrating score of 396 points, just one point out of the final match.

“I am surprised that I shot a new world record, this is also my personal best!” said Yi after the award ceremony. “I am really glad that I become the new world champion, and I have to thank all my team for this success!’”

The second Chinese finalist, Wu Liuxi, who had been leading the world ranking throughout the whole 2010 season, finished in second place securing Silver with a total score of 501.4 (398+103.4) points, claiming China’s second Olympic Quota Place in this event.

Two quotas also went to Germany, the host country, thanks to Jessica Mager and Beate Gauss. The two home shooters starting the match in seventh and eighth place with the lower qualification score of 397 points, fought right to the last shot to climb up in fifth and sixth place in order to grab the last two quotas available in this match.

The Bronze and the third Quota Places went to Italy’s Elania Nardelli, a 23-year old shooter coming from Puglia, who finished on the podium with 501.0 (398+103.0) points beating all the odds. The young athlete, who scored today her personal best, had never participated in an international final round before, and at the last World Championship, in 2006, she had placed 84th. “I cannot believe it. This is my best competition ever, it is a dream that comes true, and at the same time a starting point for the future!” Said Nardelli after the final.

Mahlagha Jambozorg, 18-year old, became the first Iranian athlete to qualify for the 2012 Games, by ending up in fourth place with 500.2 (397+103.2) points, enough to grab one of the six Olympic Quotas awarded today.

Wu Liuxi won Gold after equalling the World Record during the qualifications. It was the last shot that decided the podium placements of the 10m Air Rifle Women event, which saw two home shooters climbing on the podium with a few tenths margin.

The 2008 and 2009 ISSF World Cup Final winner, China’s Wu Liuxi, 25, entered the match in the lead with an outstanding qualification score of 400 points, equalling the World Record for the third time in her career.

Beate Gauss of Germany, following her just one point behind with a qualification score of 399 points, challenged her since the first final shot, trying to move in the lead.The two rifle shooters duelled throughout the whole final, going back and forth in first and second place, right to the last shot, when Gauss fired a frustrating 9.2 that landed her in third place. The second Chinese finalist, Yi Siling, took advantage of Gauss’s mistake, moving up in second place, claiming Silver and stepping on the podium next to her teammate Wu.

Wu Liuxi claimed Gold with a total score of 502.7 points (400+102.7), winning her first medal on the Olympic Shooting range of Beijing.

Yi Siling, 20, finished in second place with a total score of 502.6 points. After squeezing into the final match through a qualification shoot-off with 397 points + 52.9, the young Chinese athlete shot an extreme score of 105.6 points during the final, securing the second ISSF Silver medal of her international career (she had finished on the podium also at the 2009 World Cup Stage held here in Beijing).

Bronze was taken by Germany’s Beate Gauss, 25, who after that unlucky shot closed the match on the third step of the podium with a total score of 501.9 points (399+102.9).

Two American shooters, Amy Sowash and Emily Caruso, finished in fourth and fifth place with 501.5 and 501.0 points, respectively. The second German shooter, Barbara Lechner, ended up in sixth place, with a total of 500.4 points, after shooting-off 10.6 to 10.0 the Russian Olympic medallist Lioubov Galkina, seventh today.