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The ISSF World Cup Final in Shotgun of Minsk has been officially closed by the ISSF Technical Delegate Mr. Keith Murray. Italy and the Russian Federation won the medal standings.

The 2008 ISSF World Cup in Shotgun has been closed today at the Sporting Club shooting range of Minsk, Belarus.
The ISSF Technical Delegate Keith Murray, also speaking in Behalf of the ISSF President Olegario Vàzquez Raña and of the ISSF Secretary General Horst G. Schreiber, addressed words of appreciation for what done by the organizers and for the welcome received by the shooting family in Minsk.
“We should be satisfied by the competition conducted during these days. The results of our athletes were to be appreciated, considering the cold weather, the visibility and the breeze… – said Mr. Murray – We are going to set a World Cup here in Minsk next year, when the organizers will face more participants, so this competition has been a good test.”

Nine countries gained at least one medal at this ISSF World Cup Final in Shotgun. None of the five Olympic Champions of Beijing taking part in the competition made it to the highest step of the podium, nor the title defenders of the 2007 ISSF World Cup Final confirmed their titles.
The medal standing was won by Italy and the Russian Federation, who placed in first tied with one Gold and two Bronzes each. Cyprus, Norway and Sweden followed tied in third place, with one Gold medal each.

The medal standings of the 2008 ISSF World Cup Final in Shotgun:

RANK NATION GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL RANK BY TOT
1 Italy (ITA) 1 – 2 3 1
1 Russian Federation (RUS) 1 – 2 3 1
3 Cyprus (CYP) 1 – - 1 5
3 Norway (NOR) 1 – - 1 5
3 Sweden (SWE) 1 – - 1 5
6 Peopleís Republic of China (CHN) – 2 – 2 3
6 United States of America (USA) – 2 – 2 3
8 Australia (AUS) – 1 – 1 8
9 Czech Republic (CZE) – - 1 1 8
_ TOTAL 5 5 5 15 _

Vincent Hancock of the USA and Tore Brovold of Norway, the Olympic Gold and Silver medallists of Beijing, the two athletes currently leading the world ranking and the only two who have been able to shot the 150-target final world record, keep on fighting for the leadership in the skeet men event.

Hancock and Brovold, that had fought for the Olympic Gold of Beijing right to a shoot-off, met again today at the ISSF World Cup Final in Shotgun of Minsk, where they passed through the qualifications entering the final round tied once again, shooting the same qualification score of 123 hits.

The two shooters, who have been duelling for the highest rankings of the skeet men event throughout this Olympic season, played an breathtaking final round here in Minsk, shooting head to head right to the fourth station, where the 19-year old Hancock lost a determinant target breaking the tie.
Brovold did not miss the chance, shooting straight to the end of the round and winning Gold with 145 hits and one target of advantage on Hancock, gaining his second title in career after the 2004 edition of Maribor.

“I would not say that this is a revenge after the Olympic Games” commented the Beijing’s Silver medallist Brovold, who had lost the Olympic Gold in a shoot-off against Hancock “We are good friends… but here we were competing, and I tried to give my best to conclude such an intense season in the best way. Now I think I can take an holiday!”

The Olympic Champion Vincent Hancock finished in second place with a total score of 147 hits. The young American shooter has won almost every title in shooting: from World to Continental Championships, from World Cups to Olympic Games Gold, Hancock has climbed every podium in the last three years, but an ISSF World Cup Final Gold still missing from his medals showcase. He had indeed taken part in the 2005 edition held in Dubai, finishing in second as well.

Bronze went to the Czech shooter Jan Sychra, 39, who had won Silver at the 2007 edition held in Belgrade. Sychra won the spot on the podium with a total score of 144 hits and by outdoing 2 to 1 in a shoot-off the 45-year old Abdullah Alrashidi, who placed in fourth. At the same time, the title defender, Georgios Achilleos of Cyprus, did not pass the shoot-off to get into the final, finishing in seventh with 119+1 targets.

Next to the medallists, special applauses went to the 48-year old Italian shooter Andrea Benelli, the 1996 Bronze medallist of Atlanta and 2004 Olympic Champion of Athens. After 30 years passed in the Italian national team and five participations in the Olympics, Benelli announced today his definitive retirement from the international competitions after the skeet final round, where he placed in fifth with a total of 143 hits.

The Silver medallist of the last Olympic Games of Beijing Giovanni Pellielo of Italy won today’s Trap Men Final at the ISSF World Cup Final in Shotgun of Minsk. Pellielo, who had started in third place with a qualification score of 120 targets, shot Gold with a perfect final of 25 hits, for a total score of 145 targets.

“I haven’t been winning medals for almost two years, before the Games. It took me time to get used to one-shot finals” said the 38-year old Italian athlete “I worked to find my condition just in time for the Games. Now I feel more confident with one-shots rounds, and this results become possible now.”

This is the seventh time that Pellielo climbs on the highest step of a World Cup Final podium: he had started winning in 1992, and gained his last Gold three years ago at the 2005 World Cup Final of Dubai. “And I will keep on shooting… on the way to London 2012”

The final round turned out to be one of the most exciting matches of this ISSF World Cup Final. The 2004 Olympic Champion and 2008 Olympic Bronze medallist Alexey Alipov of Russia, who had started on the lead after the qualification, wasted his advantage on the followers by missing in the second part of the round. Michael Diamond of Australia and Giovanni Pellielo took advantage of his mistakes, and caught him up when only five targets were to be shot. The three shooters (seven Olympic medals all together) found themselves tied in a final battle for the Gold medal.

Alipov probably felt the pressure, and dropped three targets in a raw, shooting himself in third place with 142 targets (123+19). Diamond and Pellielo kept on shooting tied right to the last shot, when tension tricked also Diamond, who dropped the very last clay putting himself in second with a total score of 144 hits (122+22).

The title defender, the Italian Erminio Frasca, 25, finished in fourth place with 141 hits, while the Olympic Champion of Beijing David Kostelecky from the Czech Republic had to shoot-off against the third Italian finalist Massimiliano Mola to close in fifth place.

The 24-year old Cypriot shooter Andri ELEFTHERIOU won the Skeet Women Event at the ISSF World Cup Final of Minsk, closing the shooting season ahead of everybody with a score of 95 hits. The young skeet shooter took her satisfaction after the Olympic Games, where she had placed in seventh right out of the final. The Olympic Gold and Silver medallist CAINERO and RHODE shot in the final, but could not find a spot upon the podium.

Andrei Eleftheriou of Cyprus, winner of the World Cup Stage of Belgrade, this year, won the 2008 World Cup title by playing an excellent match here in Minsk, today. The 24-year old shooter outdid the Olympic Champion Cainero of Italy and the Olympic Silver medallist Rhode, ruling the qualifications with 73 hits and winning the final with 22 targets for a total score of 95 hits.

“It’s great to win this title. Today it’s cold here! I come from Cyprus, I am not used to this freezing weather!” said Eleftheriou “It’s a great way to close the shooting season, it’s a great satisfaction after the seventh place I reached at the Games. Now I’ve some rest in front of me, it has been a long year…”

The Olympic Champion Chiara Cainero of Italy finished out of the podium after missing four targets throughout the final. Starting from the third place, she dropped down in the scoreboard, landing in sixth and last place with a total score of 90 targets. Her Olympic opponent, Beijing’s Silver medallist Kimberly Rhode of the USA, placed in fourth with 91 hits + 2 after shooting-off against the Swedish finalist Nathalie Larsson.

Silver went Haley DUNN from the USA, the 23-year old shooter who had won the 2005 edition of the ISSF World Cup Final. “It’s great to be here, and to be on the podium at the end of such a season. This is a nice range, but I has not been that easy today with this wind and this visibility…” commented Dunn, who had qualified for this World Cup Final by winning the World Cup stage of Kerrville and by earning a Bronze medal at the pre-Olympic World Cup of Beijing.

Bronze went to the second Italian finalist, the 26-year old Katiuscia SPADA, who played an excellent round climbing from the sixth place up to the third shooting 24 targets in the final, totalizing 92 targets.

The 2001 World Champion Irina LARICHEVA of the Russian Federation won the Trap Women final at the ISSF World Cup Final in Shotgun events held in Minsk. The 43-year old shooter left no chances to her opponents, leading the qualifications and then scoring the highest final: she placed in first winning her first World Cup Final with a total score of 94 hits, after starting the round on the lead with a qualification of 72 targets.

LARICHEVA is not new to an international podium. The Russian shooter, currently ranked fourth in the world, is not new to the podium, in this event. She had qualified for this year’s final by winning Silver at the World Cup Stage held in Kerrville, TX, USA, and by placing in third at the Pre-Olympic World Cup of Beijing, last April.
This victory comes after the slight defiance of the Games, where Laricheva placed in ninth in spite of walking into the competition as one of the most favourite to finish upon the podium.

The title defender, the 2007 World Cup Series Champion Giulia IANNOTTI of Italy, finished in third place, winning Bronze with 90 hits (69+21). She had qualified for this World Cup Final by winning the last World Cup stage of the year, in Belgrade. “I feel good, I am finally getting used to the one-shot final. Therefore I am not too disappointed with the result itself” said the Italian athlete.

Iannotti could not make up the disadvantage she had from the second qualified, the current World Champion LIU Yingzi, who exploited her two points advantage head start on the Italian shooter to maintain the second position she had gained through the qualifications.

Liu closed the round in second with a total of 92 hits (71+21), winning her second consecutive World Cup Final medal. The Chinese athlete had indeed won Bronze at the past editions, held in Belgrade one year ago.

Jessica ROSSI of Italy, the youngest finalist this year with her 16 years of age, made into the final with 67 qualification targets, but then probably paid her lack of experience during the final round. She scored 18 targets, totalizing 85 hits finishing in sixth place.

Victims of the post-Games stress, the three Olympic medallists of Beijing did not play their best final, today. The Olympic Champion Satu MAKELA-NUMMELA of Finland finished in 12th place, with a score of 65 hits, while the Olympic Silver and the Bronze medallists Zuzana STEFECEKOVA of Slovakia and Corey COGDELL of the USA finished in ninth and tenth place, respectively.