The Italian shooter rocked the 50m Rifle Prone final, securing Gold at the last shot in his “backup” event “The last shot nightmare is over” said the Italian shooter, who had missed an Olympic final and a World Record at the last trigger pull.

“I won it at the last shot, at the last shot!” said Niccolò Campriani, the Italian shooter who won today’s 50m Rifle Prone Men event closing the match with an outstanding 10.8 shot “I had missed the 2008 Olympic Final and a World Record at the last Europeans, due to weak last shots. Even here, in Fort Benning, I missed the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Silver medal at the last shot, just a couple of days ago” Continued Campriani, surrounded by his Italian teammate, celebrating his first ISSF Gold medal and his personal best in this event.

“After the Games and the Europeans, it has been hard to deal with last shots. Today’s will help me to do better in future,” said the 22-year old shooter “I really did not expect this medal. Prone is my backup event, I am only ranked 93rd in the World. Today’s is my personal best score!”

After yesterday’s elimination match, Campriani squeezed into the competition in last, building then his victory during the competitions. “It’s kind of funny: I was the last after the elimination, I was feeling confident. As I was not thinking about the final, I made it!”

Entering the medal match in first place, with a qualification score of 599 points and one point of advantage on his followers, the Italian athlete led the round from the first to the last shot, keeping his opponents behind him by a few tenths.

Right before the last shot, he only had 0.1 points of advantage on the home champion Eric Uptagrafft, and therefore the tenth and last final shot turned out to be determinant: “I scored a 10.8 – said Campriani smiling after the final – winning my first ISSF Gold where I less expected it!” Nothing was left to do for USA’s Uptagrafft, who finished in second grabbing Silver with 702.8 points after firing a 10.5.

Climbing to the top of the podium with a total score of 703.2 points, Campriani started looking forward to the next matches “The World Championship, first of all. I will keep on training here in USA” concluded the Italian shooter, who studies Engineering at the West Virginia University, and uses to train with the American team “I have been here for nine months, now. It’s great to have a chance to train and compete in the US national matches. Being on today’s podium with Matt and Eric is a great honour for me.”

The home Champion, Matthew Emmons, the 2004 Olympic Gold and 2008 Olympic Silver medallist, ended up in third place with a total score of 702.1 points. Qualified in second with 598 points, the American shooter secured Bronze after shooting 104.1 points through the final, finishing just 0.7 points behind his teammate Uptagrafft.

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“The dream came true! I have been looking for this medal for years, since I started shooting, back in 2000!” said Damir Mikec, the Serbian shooter who won today’s 10m Air Pistol Men final at the ISSF World Cup in Rifle and Pistol events in Fort Benning, USA.

“I have a new stock since three weeks, it feels good and made me confident, today – said the 26-year old Serbian athlete – during the final, I could see the scores’ monitor. I tried not to look at it, but eventually I noticed that I was in the lead. I was feeling nervous!”

Mikec, shooting since the age of 16, had competed in several ISSS World Cup stages, winning his first ISSF medal just weeks ago, in Beijing, climbing the world ranking up to the fourth place. Walking into today’s final in first spot, with a qualification score of 586 points, he secured the brightest medal with a total score of 687.1 points after scoring 101.1 points throughout the ten-shot final.

“The next World Cup is going to be in Belgrade, my home city. It feels great to walk into your home shooting range with a Gold around your neck. – Said the young shooter – But I shouldn’t forget that the final aim is the World Championship in Munich – continued Mikec, mentioning the 50th ISSF World Championship in all events that will take place between July and August – I am working hard to get one of those 2012 Olympic Quota Places !”

The Olympic Champion of Beijing and current World Champion, China’s Pang Wei, 23, finished on the podium winning Bronze with a total score of 683.8 points. Qualified with 582 points, the Chinese champion fired 101.8 points, today’s highest final score. Incredibly, World’s most titled 10m Air Pistol Men shooter had never been able to grab a medal in ISSF World Cup competitions, in spite of participating in six editions.

Winning the Silver medal, also Kazakhstan’s Rashid Yunusmetov claimed his first ISSF World Cup medal in this event. The 30-year old athlete, an expert 50m Pistol Men competitor, had participated in several 10m Air Pistol World Cup final rounds, but he had never made it to the podium, before. Entering in the final with tied to Mikec 586 points, the Kazakh shooter fired 99.3 points, claiming Silver with 685.3 points.

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The 2009 ISSF World Cup Final winner Liu Yingzi of China secured Gold at the Trap Women final, propelling the Chinese shooting team atop of the overall medal standings of the ISSF World Cup in Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun events in Beijing.

The 39-year old athlete had won the 2009 World Cup Final held here in Beijing, shooting with ease in spite of the snow falling over Beijing. Five months later, she ruled over the Olympic range once again, defeating titled opponents in a breathtaking final round.

Entering the match in the lead with 73 qualification hits, the home shooter missed on her second and third final targets, loosing her advantage and starting a neck and neck fight for Gold against Japan’s Suzu Keiko and Slovakia’s Zuzana Stefecekova.

The three athletes exchanged position more than once during the final round, and the last shots turned out to be decisive for the podium placements.

The Olympic Silver medallist of Beijing, 26-year old Stefecekova from Slovakia, missed four targets in a row in the last part of the round, dropping down in third place. The world record holder finished with a total score of 89 (71+18) hits and the Bronze medal. She had won her last ISSF medal at last year’s World Cup Final here in Beijing, when she had placed second.

Japan’s Suzu Keiko, 31, currently ranked 50th in the World, lost her chance to finish atop of the podium as she missed her very last target, landing in second place with a total score of 90 (71+19) targets. Suzu, an Asian Championship’s multi-medallist, had claimed her last World Cup medal in 2001, in Seoul.

Taking advantage of her opponents’ mistakes, China’s Liu Yingzi cleared the last three targets, ending up in first place with a total of 91 (73+18) hits. The 2009 World Cup Title holder, ranked fifth in the world, stands now as one of the favourite shooters for the next ISSF World Championship in all events, to take place in Munich next August, where the first 2012 Olympic Quotas will be assigned.

China’s Wu Cuicui, Taipei Lin Yi Chun and People’s Republic of Kora’s Pak Yong Hui were also part of the match, which saw the Asian Shooting Confederation as the main protagonist. They closed the final in fourth, fifth and sixth place, respectively.

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USA’s Daryl Szarenski, 42, won the 50m Pistol Men even, claiming his first ISSF Word Cup Gold medal with a total score of 662.1 points.

The American shooter qualified for the final round in the lead with 564 points, walking into the final match in first place with a four-point advantage on his followers. Shooting consistently during the final round, he fired 98.1 points, finishing on the highest step of the podium with a total score of 662.1 points.

Szarenski had made it into two finals during the first ISSF World Cup Stage of the year, in Sydney. There, he had qualified for the 10m Air Pistol Men final, finishing then in fifth place, and had won a Bronze medal in the 50m Pistol Men event.

Following him today, Germany’s Abdullah Ustaoglu, 39, placed in second winning Silver with 656.4 points (560+96.4). Ustaoglu, competing on the international scene since ten years, had never finished on the podium, before.

The Bronze medal was taken by the 2008 Olympic Finalist Oleg Omelchuk, 26, form Ukraine. The young shooters, currently ranked 17th in the World, entered the final round with 559 points, six points less then the qualification’s leader Szarenski, and shot 94.2 points during the final to finish in third with a total score of 653.2 points.

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Germany’s Munkhbayar Dorjsuren won today’s 25m Pistol Women event at the ISSF World Cup in Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun events in Beijing, held on the lines of the 2008 Olympic venue.

The 40-year old German shooter, who had won here an Olympic Bronze two years ago, said to be extremely excited to be back on Beijing’s podium, and to win her first ISSF Gold medal of the season.

Dorjusuren had to fight hard to climb up on the highest step of the podium. The German athlete had qualified in fourth place, with 583 points and two points of disadvantage from the qualification leader, the home shooter Zhang Jingjing.

She started climbing up the scoreboard since the first final series, moving up shot after shot and eventually claiming Gold with a total score of 787.0 points (583+204.0). Dorjusuren had won her last ISSF Gold medal in 2009, at the World Cup Stage held in Milan.

Following her, the 2000 Olympic Bronze medallist Lalita Yauhleuskaya did even better, by scoring 205.7 points during the final. The Australian athlete climbed all the way up from the eighth place she had on the start grid, landing in second place to claim Silver with a total score of 786.7 points. The 46-year old shooters had started the season in the spotlights by making it into the final match at the first 2010 ISSF World Cup Stage in Sydney, where she had eventually placed fourth.

The home shooter, Zhang Jingjing, 21-year old, had never competed before in an international shooting event. After qualifying in the lead with 585 points, she paid her lack of experience during the medal match.

Shooting in the eighth and ninth rings more than once, she slid down in the placements, grabbing the Bronze medal with 786.3 points, just five tenths more than what scored by Bulgaria’s Grozdeva, who placed in fourth with 785.8 points.

One of the favourite shooter, China’s Guo Wenjun, the 10m Air Pistol Women Olympic Champion of Beijing, did not make it to the podium. The 25-year old shooter qualified for the final in third place with 583 points, ending up in sixth place with a total of 783.7 points after shooting 200.7 points in the final. She was followed by Azerbaijan’s Irada Ashumova (seventh with 783.5 points) and by Georgia’s Olympic multi-medallist Nino Salukvadze (eighth with 779.0 points).

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The two-time Olympic Champion Kimberly Rhode of the USA won today’s Skeet Women final at the ISSF World Cup in all events in Beijing, equalling the World Record of 74 hits out of 75 targets during the qualifications. Rhode had won an Olympic Silver medal here in Beijing two years ago, during the 2008 Games.

The 30-year old American shooter made it into today’s final match with the highest qualification score, 74 hits, equalling the World Record and walking into the match with a two-target head start on her followers. Hitting 24 out of 25 targets throughout the final round, she ended up in first place with a total score of 98 hits, grabbing her second World Cup Gold medal of the year. Rhode had indeed finished on the highest step of the podium also at the first World Cup Stage of the season, in Acapulco (MEX), at the beginning of March.

Chiense spectators celebrated the home shooters Shi Hong Yan and Wei Ning, finishing in second and third place, respectively.

37-year old Shi, who had won her last ISSF medal at the 2006 World Cup in Quingyuan City, entered into the final match with a qualification score of 72 hits, finishing then on the podium with a total score of 96 hits after dropping one target on the third station.

The 2004 Olympic Silver medallist Wei Ning, 27, had also qualified for the final round with 72 hits. Dropping four targets throughout the final round, she ended up in third place tied to Russia’s Svetlana Demina with a final score of 93 hits. In the following shoot-off, Wei outdid Demina 2 to 1 hits, winning her twelve ISSF World Cup medal since 2001.

Svetlana Demina, celebrating her birthday on the day of the final, finished in fourth place with a total score of 93+1 hits, followed by the third Chinese finalist Yu Xiumin with 92 hits and by the second-time finalist Monika Zemkova of Slovakia with 89 hits.

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Australia’s Warren Potent won the applauses of the final hall of the Olympic Shooting Range of Sydney, today, by winning Gold at the 50m Rifle Prone Men final.

Spotlights were on the home shooter since the qualification rounds, as the Olympic Bronze medallist of Beijing had equalled the World Record to walk into the final in first with 600 points.

Nobody could then stop him during the medal match. In spite of being close-followed by India’s Joydeep Karmakar, Potent shot in the lead from the first right to the last shot, ending up on the highest step of the podium with an unreachable final score of 703.7 (600+103.7) points.

“It’s great to win a Gold medal here, on the lines of my home range. – Exclaimed Potent after the award ceremony, celebrated by a number of Australian fans - This is my second time on the highest step of this podium. I had won my first ISSF World Cup Gold medal here in Sydney, in 2007!”

“I was really nervous this morning, before shooting the record. – Kept on explaining Potent – This is my home range, but it’s never easy… I had been closed to it several time, but I had never scored 600 points in an international match before, for some reasons.”

“The final itself hasn’t been that easy too: the way in which the wind affects the shots here in the final hall is quite different than in the qualification building.” Concluded Potent, smiling as somebody reminded him that the 2007 World Cup Gold medal had been his first step on the road leading to the Olympic Podium of Beijing.

“I am now looking forward to the ISSF World Championship in Munich, – He said  - I heard that more than 2500 shooters are going to be there, because of the Olympic Quotas… That’s the first Qualification for the 2012 Games in London, it’s going to be challenging!”

The Silver medal went to India’s Joydeep Karmakar, 30-year old, a first time finalist. The Shooter from Calcutta had indeed participated in a single ISSF World Cup Stage, in Resende (BRA), four years ago, placing far behind the medal placements.

Karmakar made it to the final round with an excellent qualification score of 599 points, just one point lower than the world record equalled by Potent. By shooting 103.4 points during the final, he could not make up the disadvantage he had from the leader. His total score of 702.4 points landed him in second place, winning his first international medal ever.

“This was my first time in an ISSF World Cup final round… I have been shooting for fifteen years, but I could not reach these results, something was missing on the psychological side, which is really important in shooting. “ Said the Indian athlete right before the award ceremony.

“I started to dedicate more and more time to shooting in 2007, and these are the results. – continued Karmakar – My next goals? The Olympic Games, of course! Since Bindra’s victory at the 2008 Games, shooting has become more and more popular in India. He showed us that it is possible to get there. And I will try to get there!”

It was the expert Belarusian shooter Sergey Martynov who took today’s Bronze medal, ending up in third place with 700.7 points. The three-time Olympic Bronze medallist, and ten-time World Cup Gold medallist, shot 103.7 points in the final match, overtaking the American shooter Michael McPhail to finish on the podium with a total score of 700.7 points.

USA’s McPhail, 28-year old, missed the podium by a few tenths. The American athlete, who had claimed two World Cup Bronzes last year, could not recover from a 9.0 he fired on his sixth final shot, and ended up in fourth place with 700.5 points. Following him, Switzerland’s Marcel Buerge took the fifth spot with 699.2 points, while the second American finalist Eric Uptagrafft landed in sixth place with 697.1 points.

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The 21-year old Chinese shooter Cao Yifei won the first final of the 2010 ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup in Sydney. The young athlete led the match starting from the qualifications, and never jeopardized his chances of victory. Walking into the final match with the highest qualification score of 596 points, Cao scored a total of 102.8 points during the final, securing the first Gold medal of his international career with a total score of 698.8 points.

In spite of his young age, the Chinese shooter had already climbed ISSF podiums in 2008 and 2009, when he had won two Silver medals in Milan and Changwon, climbing the world ranking up to the fifth place. In the next months he will probably have to face his teammate Zhu Qinan, one of the best Air Rifle shooter of the World. The two will have to duel on the way to the 50th ISSF World Championship, where the first Olympic Quotas for London will be awarded to the best performers, next August.

The Silver medal went to India’s Sanjeev Rajput, a 29-year old shooter who had never finished on an ISSF podium before.  “I felt like I was competing in India, having two teammates next to me!” exclaimed the Silver medallist. He had in fact made it into the final together with his teammates Gagan Narang and Raghunath Padinchare Thermadathil in fifth place. Qualified with 594 points, he climbed up the scoreboard to the second place by shooting today’s highest final score, 103.9 points.

The World Record holder Gagan Narang, also from India, was left in fourth with a total score of 696.8 points. After starting in eighth place, with the lower qualification score, the Indian ace climbed up the scoreboard by firing 102.8 points, finishing just one tenth of a point far from the podium “I am working on my equipment, there is still a 15% to be tuned up to reach the best conditions” Said Narang after the match “This World Cup came early in the season. We closed the 2009 in December, with the Asian Championship in Doha, and we started preparing the Commonwealth Championship quite early, this year. There has not bee that much time to rest in between.”

“The most important competition of the year is the ISSF World Championship in Munich – Continued Narang – The first Olympic Quota Places fro London are going to be awarded there. I am going to try to peak for that match.”

Bronze went to the 30-year old Austrian finalist Mario Knoegler, 30, who placed in third with a total score of 696.9 points, while the 2009 Shooter of the Year Peter Sidi of Hungary landed in fifth place with 696.7 points.

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