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With more than 5 points of advantage on their followers, Barbara Lechner, Sonja Pfeilschifer and Eva Friedel climbed upon today’s podium, in a glorious day for the German team.

It has been a glorious day for the German rifle team, today, in Wroclaw (POL), where the 2011 ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup Final is held from the 18th to the 24th of September.

Three German flags were risen atop of today’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women event podium, won by Barbara Lechner, followed by her teammates Sonja Pfeilschifter and Eva Friedel.

Only the best shooters of the world were eligible to participate in this competition: the reigning World Champions, the World Cup title defenders, and the best performers qualified throughout this year’s four ISSF World Cup Stages.

The three German teammates beat the all, finishing atop of the podium with more than 5 points of margin on the other finalists.

The reigning World Champion, Barbara Lechner, qualified in the lead with 592 points. Exploiting her three-point head start on her two teammates, she did not hesitate, and took the brightest medal with an overall score of 690.8 points, after leading the medal match with 98.8 points.

“I feel great. I am at the top of my conditions.” The 28-year old finalist said right after the match. Just a few weeks ago, she had finished in second at the European Championship held in Belgrade.

“I hope I will keep on shooting like today in the next months. I want to win the German Olympic trials, and then go the 2012 Olympics. Today, I am so fit that I feel I can make it!” Lechner added. She had been competing in the 2004 and in the 2008 Olympics, finishing seventh and ninth, respectively.

Her teammate Sonja Pfeilschifter, a 40-year old World Record holder who has been leading the rifle world ranking for years, placed in second. Qualified with 587 points, she scored today’s highest final, 103.1 points, finishing on the podium with a total of 690.1 points, just 0.7 behind Lechner. Pfeilschifter was not new to the ISSF World Cup Final podium: since 1991, she has been winning six gold medals, and a total of 12 awards, in this event.

Eva Friedel (27), the third German finalist, secured the Bronze with an overall score of 687.7 (589+98.7) points, winning her first ISSF World Cup Final medal.

“It has been an excellent competition. We are a great team, and we showed it today, I couldn’t be more happy to share the podium with the two of them!” Lechner added.

China’s Wan Xiangyan and Li Peijing place in fourth and fifth place, more than five points behind the Germans, with 682.6 and 682.0 points, respectively. USA’s Jamie Beyerle followed them in sixth with 681.3 points, while Denmark’s Stine Nielsen and Switzerland’s Annik Marguet closed the match in seventh and eighth place with 678.8 and 677.4 points, respectively.

Today’s was the Chinese athlete’s 23rd medal out of 24 World Cup participations. Italy’s Campriani closed in second, while the Olympic Quota Places went to Beyeler (SUI) and Kamenskiy (RUS).

China’s Olympic multi-medallist Zhu Qinan, 26, won today’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men event at the 2011 ISSF Rifle & Pistol World Cup in Fort Benning, GA, USA.

The top-ranked Chinese shooter left a few chances to his opponents, today. Entering the medal match in first place, with a qualification score of 1181 points and one point of advantage on his followers, he shot 99.4 points during the final, finishing with 1280.4 points and the Gold medal more than 3 points ahead of the Silver medallist.

Zhu, a 2004 Olympic Champion and 2008 Olympic Silver medallist in Air Rifle events, started shooting the three positions event this year, at the ISSF World Cup held in Sydney last March, where he won Gold as well.

“I want to win the Olympic Games also in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions events!” he said there.

Statistics put him in the spotlights as one of the most successful ISSF World Cup participants of all times: the Chinese shooter has indeed won an impressive total of 23 ISSF World Cup medals (15 Golds, 4 Silvers and 4 Bronzes), since he started shooting in 2003. Every time he competed in an ISSF World Cup stage he finished on the podium but once (his only defiance occurred at the 2004 ISSF World Cup in Bangkok, when he finished 33rd).

Today’s Silver medal went to Italy’s Niccolò Campriani, who finished on the second step of the podium with an overall score of 1277.3 (1177+100.3) points. The 23-year old Italian shooter had won Silver also at the 10m Air Rifle Men final, a couple of days ago.

“I have been working a lot on my kneeling position. So kneeling was ok, but I missed out in the prone.” Campriani commented right after the final.

“Seen my prone score (392 points), I would say today’s overall result is not too bad. And I was able to move up in the final!”

Campriani was followed by Switzerland’s Simon Beyeler, who won the Bronze medal and an Olympic Quota Place with 1276.8 (1180+96.8) points. The 28-year old Swiss athlete, competing since 1996, had never won an ISSF World Cup medal, before.

The two home shooters, USA’s Matthew Emmons and Joseph Hein, finished in fifth and seventh place, today. Emmons, who had started off the final in seventh place, climbed up to the fifth finish by scoring today’s highest final score, 101.2 points, for a total score of 1273.2 points. His teammate Hein, on the contrary, scored today’s lower, 96.4 points, moving down from the fourth to the seventh place with a total of 1271.4 points.

The second Olympic Quota Place awarded today went to Russia’s Alexei Kamenskiy, eighth with a total tally of 1269.2 (1172+97.2) points.

Serbia’s Mirosavljev pocketed the Silver, while the second Olympic Quota Place went to Norway’s first time finalist Ole Kristian Bryhn.

It has been a great day for India, today, at the ISSF Rifle & Pistol World Cup in Changwon, Korea.

India’s 30-year old Sanjeev Rajput won the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men event, the closing final of this ISSF World Cup Stage, pocketing an Olympic Quota Place, the “entrance ticket” to the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

After making it into the medal match with 1176 qualification points, Rajput climbed up in the lead by shooting 102.2 points throughout the ten-shot final, and secured the Gold medal with a total score of 1278.2 points.

Aiming at the Olympic Quota, Rajput outscored the qualifications’ leader, Norway’s Ole Khristian Bryhn, who eventually finished in third place with 1271.9 (1177+94.9) points.

“I am very happy and proud of winning this Olympic Quota Place for my country,” the Indian winner said right after the final.

“I have being training a lot to get here, and I will now try to make the Olympic team. We have to go through trials and it’s not that easy.” Rajput explained.

“I will participate in the next ISSF World Cup in Fort Benning, USA, trying to top this result.” The Indian athlete added. Rajput, who started shooting in 2001, had never won an ISSF World Cup medal in this event before, and his best placement had been a 6^th place, here in Changwon, two years ago.

The Silver medal went to the 40-year old four-time Serbian Olympian Nemanja Mirosavljev, currently ranked fourth in the world. Mirosavljev ended up in second place with a total score of 1272.5 (1172+100.5) points.

It was Norway’s Ole Kristian Bryhn who secured the Bronze medal and the second Olympic Quota Place. Starting in the lead with 1177 points, he suffered the pressure of the match and finished in third place with a total score of 1271.9 points. The 21-year old shooter had never made it to a world cup final round, before. His best placement, so far, had been a Junior Bronze medal won at the 2009 European Championship.

The reigning World Champion, Peter Sidi of Hungary, did not make it to the podium, eventually closing the final in fourth place, almost two points far from the medals with a total score of 1269.0 (1169+100.0) points.

Han Jinseop of Korea, Charles James Huckle of Great Britain, Joseph Hein of USA and Daniel Castro of Spain finished the final match in fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth place, respectively.

The 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men competition closed the 2011 ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup Stage in Changwon, Korea. More than 500 shooters competed in the 10 Olympic events of Rifle and Pistol shooting from the 7^th to the 14^th of April, trying to secure one of the 24 Olympic Quota Places awarded here.

The next ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup Stage will take place in Fort Benning, USA, starting from the 14^th of May.

Two first-time finallists finished on the podium beatign the 2008 Olympic Champion Du Li of China.

France’s Emilie Evesque, a 22-year old first time finalist, made her debut in the ISSF World Cup Series at today’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women event.

She had walked into the final in first place with a qualifications score of 587, but she suddenly lost her head start as she fired an unlucky 7.7 on her second competition shot

Another first time finalist, the 21-year old Chinese shooter Li Peijing, whose best international placement had been a Junior Gold medal at the 2007 Asian Championship, took advantage of Evesque defiance. Starting the medal match in second with 586, the young Chinese athlete overtook her and climbed up in the lead by shooting today’s highest final score (101.1 points)

Finishing in first place with a total score of 687.1 points, Li also pocketed an Olympic Quota Place, a 2012 Olympic spot for her country.

Evesque landed in second place, winning the Silver medal and the second Olympic Quota Place with a total score of 683.5 points.

The 2008 Olympic Champion of Beijing Du Li followed them in third place, pocketing the Bronze medal. After starting with 583 points, three points behind Li and Evesque, she climbed up the scoreboard to finish the second step of the podium with a total score of 682.2 (583+99.2) points

Croatia’s Olympian Pejcic followed in fourth place with 680.0 (583+97.0) points. Following her, Czech Republic’s, Adela Sykorova shot the best final score right to the eighth competition shot, when she fired out a 7.1 shot, finishing in fifth with 679.1 points.

The home shooter, Korea’s Kong Hyun Ah, tried to secure an Olympic Quota Place right to the last shot. The 38-year old shooter, who had been winning several ISSF medals in the mid nineties and who’s ranked 59^th in the world nowadays, eventually ended up in seventh place with an overall score of 675.9 (581+94.9) points.

Following her, today’s medal match turned out to be a bitter-sweet birthday for Sweden’s Linda Oloffson, who was turning 29 today. The Swedish shooter, at her second experience in an ISSF final round, started-off her match with a disappointing 2.7 shot, falling down in eighth and last place, where she closed the match with a total score of 673.6 (582+91.6) points.

More than 500 shooters are participating in the 2011 ISSF Rifle & Pistol World Cup taking place in Changwon, Korea, form the 7 through the 14 of April. Twenty-four Olympic Quota Places are to be awarded during the competition.

The World Cup will continue tomorrow with the 25m Pistol Men final, kicking-off at 3 PM (GMT+9).

Competitors shoot at a stationary target consisting of ten concentric rings, with the innermost being the ‘inner ten’ with a diameter of 5 mm. The targets are placed 50m away and shooters fire from the prone (lying down), Standing and Kneeling positions in that order.

The Rifle is:

• .22 (“Small-bore”) calibre using .22 Long Rifle ammunition
• a maximum permissible weight of 8kg for men and 6.5kg for women
• Correcting lenses and telescopes must not be attached to the rifle.

Mens 3 Position (3×40) Event

The shooter fires 40 shots each in the prone (lying down), standing and kneeling positions at a target set 50m away, giving a maximum score of 1200. The best eight shooters from this opening program qualify for the final, which consists of ten further shots, each fired on command. Each shot is evaluated in decimal tenths (10.9 being the maximum). The decimal score gives a maximum “Final” score of 109. The “Final” Score is added to the score from the opening program, giving a Overall maximum score of 1309.

The Total time-limit allowed is 3hours, which is split into sections for each position as follows: Prone: 45 Minutes Standing: 75 Minutes Kneeling: 60 Minutes

Before the competition begins there is a 10-minutes preperation time, during which the shooter may shoulder the rifle and dry fire. They MAY NOT fire any rounds, blank or live.

For the Mens event there is a change-over between position of a maximum of 10 minutes.

Women’s 3 Position (3×20) Event

The shooter fires 20 shots each in the prone (lying down), standing and kneeling positions at a target set 50m away, giving a maximum score of 600. The best eight shooters from this opening program qualify for the final, which consists of ten further shots, each fired on command. Each shot is evaluated in decimal tenths (10.9 being the maximum). The decimal score gives a maximum “Final” score of 109. The “Final” Score is added to the score from the opening program, giving a Overall maximum score of 709.

The total time-limit allowed is 2 hours and 15 minutes. Unlike the men’s event, the time for each position is not designated, and shooters progress to the next position as and when they are ready. The beginning of the shoot is preceded by a 10-minute preparation period, during which the shooter may shoulder the rifle and dry fire. They MAY NOT fire any rounds, blank or live.