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Norway’s Olympic Silver medallist Tore Brovold secured the first Skeet Gold medal of the season, outdoing USA’s McLelland in a shoot-off. 2000 Olympic Champion Milchev finished in third, while the reigning champion Hancock closed in fourth.

The Olympic Silver medallist of Beijing, Norway’s Tore Brovold, won the Skeet Men Gold medal at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Acapulco (MEX), today. The 39-year old athlete started the 2010 season in best possible way, going back on the highest step of an ISSF World Cup after missing the Gold since six years.

“It was my time, today. I had won my last World Cup Gold medal six years ago!” Said Brovold after the final match. The Norwegian shooter, a world record holder and a two times World Cup Final winner, had indeed claimed his last ISSF WC Gold at the 2004 pre-Olympic World Cup in Athens.

Starting today’s final in the lead tied to USA’s Randal McLelland with a qualification score of 124 hits, Brovold build up his victory since the first stations, shooting solidly and completing the final with a perfect score of 25 hits out of 25 targets. “I though I could make it right after clearing the fourth station” he said “But you never know. I had to hit all the final targets, to climb the podium. Randal is a young shooter, and he was shooting extremely good today. The range? Good, but the background is a little but difficult, and today’s wind made it even more difficult.”

McLelland duelled with Brovold right to the end, hitting all the final targets as well. The fight between the two athletes continued in a shoot-off for the Gold medal. Keeping the focus, Brovold outdid McLelland 2 to 1 hits, securing Gold with a total score of 149 hits + 2 targets in the shoot-off.

Randal McLelland, 24, a first time finalist, secured Silver with a total score of 149 hits + 1 targets in the shoot-off, claiming his first International medal in a windy Mexican afternoon. “My goals this year are to be on the podium at the next World Cups, and to win the World Championship!” said the 24-year old American shooter, mentioning the 2010 ISSF World Championship, that will take place in Munich starting from the 29^th of July. There, the first 2012 Olympic Games Quota Places will be awarded to the best performers.

Today’s Bronze medal went to the 2000 Olympic Champion, the Ukraine shooter Mikola Milchev. Walking into the final with 123 qualification targets, the 42-year old shooter climbed up the scoreboard by hitting 24 targets during the final, and finished on the podium with a total score of 147 clays. Always ranking between the bests, he had won his last ISSF World Cup Gold last year, in Cairo.

It turned out to be an unlucky match for the 2008 Olympic Champion of Beijing, McLelland’s teammate Vincent Hancock, the current leader of the World Ranking. Struggling through the qualifications, Hancock made it into the final with a qualification score of 122 hits, finishing then in fourth place after outdoing Netherland’s Jan-Cor Greef in a shoot-off. Last year, 20-year old Hancock had won the ISSF World Championship held in Maribor, and a Silver medal at the ISSF World Cup Final in Beijing.

World Cup Skeet Men

France’s Terras won Gold at today’s Skeet Men Final, the last match of this year’s ISSF World Cup Final in Beijing. Terras caught up the Olympic Champion Hancock, overtaking him at the forth station to claim the title.

The 2008 Olympic Bronze medallist Anthony Terras of France stepped back upon Beijing’s podium, winning the Skeet Men Final held on the same range of the Games. This time, the 24-year old athlete climbed up to the highest step of it, claiming Gold with an overall score of 145 hits (121+24).

Terras, who had started in third with a qualification score of 121 hits, turned the match in his favour throughout the final round, hitting 24 out of 25 targets. As his opponents started missing, he climbed in the lead, securing his first ISSF World Cup Final Gold medal.

First Terras tied and overtook the 2007 World Champion Georgios Achilleos of Cyprus, who lost four targets on the fourth station, and then USA’s Olympic Champion Vincent Hancock as he missed a clay on the second station and two on the fourth.

Leading with three targets of advantage after the fifth station, Terras lost one clay on the sixth, but then cleared the seventh and the eighth, finishing on the highest step of the podium with two targets of advantage on his followers.

Vincent Hancock, one of the favourite shooters to win this match as he leaded the ISSF World Championship last July, landed in second place with a total of 143 hits (122+21). “This is my third World Cup Final Silver medal – he said at the end of the match – I had won Silver last year, in Minsk, and Silver in 2005, in Dubai… there has been an issue with the targets, today. There should be a standard for flash targets, around the world.”

Cyprus’ Georgios Achilleos, 28, closed the final with 20 hits, and a total score of 142 targets, tying Norway’s Olympic Silver medallist Tore Brovold. The two athletes had to pass through a shoot-off, won by Achielleos, who secured Bronze by 8 hits to Brovold’s 7. The Norwegian shooter, who had entered the final match in sixth with 118 targets after the qualification, placed in fourth with a total score o f 142+7 hits.

Jabn Sychra of Czech Republic and the second Norwegian Finalist Harald Jensen finishd in fifth and sixth place with 140 and 139 targets, respectively.

World Cup Skeet Men

Russia, Norway and Cyprus TV will get ISSF TV footage through EBU to broadcast the match.

ISSF TV, in cooperation with the Slovenian national broadcaster Radiotelevizija Slovenija, will broadcast live today’s Skeet Men Final in Slovenia (RTV Slovenia) and Italy (RAI Sport Più). The final round will start at 4.30 PM local time.

The last match of this 2009 ISSF Shotgun World Championship in Maribor will be seen also in Russia, Norway and Cyprus, reaching a huge potential audience through the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) exchange platform.

Watch the final online!

You can follow the live broadcast of the World Championship’s last match online on our website issf-sports.org. Click through the ISSF TV link, and follow the Skeet champions during their final hurdle.Don’t miss the chance to see the shooting masters in action!

Tweet Final, Italy, Skeet Men

Exactly one year ago Hancock had won the Games of Beijing. He switched back to his old shotgun and came back to victory in Maribor, at the 2009 ISSF Shotgun World Championship.

The 2008 Olympic Champion Vincent HANCOCK of the United States of America is the new Skeet Men World Champion. HANCOCK, 20-year old, won today’s final match with an almost perfect total score of 149 hits out of 150 targets, leaving the Silver medallist ACHILLEOS one target behind him.

No chances to his opponents.
HANCOCK walked into the final round with the highest qualification score of 124 hits out of 125 targets, and defended his leadership by shooting a perfect final of 25 hits, leaving no chances to his opponents. The young American shooter is not new to the World Championship spotlights: he had won the 2005 ISSF World Championship in Lonato (ITA), when he only was 16-year old.

Hancock won by coming back to his Olympic shotgun
“I went back to my old gun. I had changed my shotgun after the Games, but results did not come. I changed back to the shotgun I used in Beijing after the ISSF World Cup stage in San Marino, two months ago.” HANCOCK said right after the final. The American shooter did not shoot an international Gold medal since the Olympic Final of Beijing which took place the 16 of August 2008, exactly one year ago.

“I had done nothing this year, I was not used to it, so it feels great to be on the podium, today” Said HANCOCK, current World and Olympic record holder, Olympic Champion and two times World Champion. “My next appointment with the ISSF is the World Cup Final in Beijing, next October.”

The title defender ended up in second
The title defender, the Cypriot shooter Georgios ACHILLEOS of Cyprus, 28, finished in second place securing Silver with a total score of 148 targets. The Cypriot athlete shot a perfect final, hitting 25 targets, but he had walked into the match with a qualification of 123 hits, one target less than HANCOCK.

Bronze to the 41-year old Falco
Bronze went to the 1996 Olympic Champion of Atlanta, the 41-year old Italian shooter Ennio FALCO, ending up with a total of 147 hits (122+25). The Italian shooter won today his sixth World Championship’s medal out of a 25-year long sport career.

USA’s second finalist, the 44-year old Shawn DULOHERY, 2001 World Champion, finished in fourth place with a total score of 146 hits (122 +24), after missing a determinant target at the first station. Following him, Valery SHOMIN of Russia placed in fifth with a total of 145 targets after outdoing 4 targets to 3 Czech’s Leos HLAVACEK in a shoot-off.

USA atop of the team podium with a new record.

Vincent HANCOCK, together with his teammates Shawn DULOHERY and Frank THOMPSON, won the team Gold with an overall score of 366 hits out of 375 targets, setting a new World Record that shattered the previous 365-record set by the Italian team at the 2006 ISSF World Championship in Zagreb.

USA’s team distanced the followers by four targets. Coming in second, Finland (Marko KEMPPAINEN, Heikki MERILUOTO and Lauri LESKINEN) won the team Silver with a total score of 361 targets.

Team Bronze went to Denmark, thanks to Andres GOLDING, Jesper HANSEN and Michael NIELSEN, scoring a total of 361 targets.

Event Hancock, ISSF, Maribor, Skeet Men, World Championship

Czech Republic’s Milos Slavicek won the Skeet Men Junior competition, finishing in the lead with one target of advantage on his opponents.

Milos SLAVICEK of Czech Republic is the new Skeet Men Junior World Champion. The 15-year old athlete won today’s competition with a total score of 122 hits out of 125 targets, finishing in first place with one target of advantage on his followers.

SLAVICEK, one of the youngest competitors taking part in this 2009 ISSF Shotgun World Championship, had never participated in a world-level competition, before. The 15-year old Czech athlete debuted on the international scene at the European Championship of Osijek (CRO) twenty days ago, placing in 29th.

SLVAICEK left behind him the 2007 World Championship’s Silver and Bronze medallists Marcus SVENSSON of Sweden and Wilfred BLANCHARD of the USA (the 2007 Junior World Champion Anastasios CHAPESHIS did not come to defend his title).

Marcus SVENSSON finished in second place winning is second consecutive Junior World Championship Silver medal with a total score of 121 +4 hits. The Swedish shooter outdid 4 targets to 3 the Italian athlete Angelo MOSCARIELLO in a shoot-off for the second step of the podium. MOSCARIELLO finished in third, grabbing Silver with a total of 121 +3 targets.

Vesa PIETARILA of Finland, 20, who was leading after the first 75 targets, closed his competition with a last series of 23 hits out of 25 targets. Any single drop can be fatal at the World Championship: the Finnish shooter slid down in the placements, landing in fourth place with a total score of 120 hits out of 125 targets, missing to grab podium just by one clay.

USA’s Wilfed BLANCHARD (Bronze medallist at the last World Championship) ended up in fifth place with a total score of 119 hits, followed by Sweden’s Stefan NILSSON (the 2009 European Junior Champion) who closed in sixth place with a total of 117 targets after beating Russia’s Mikhail DOVGAL in a shoot-off.

Teams: Gold to Czech Republic

SLAVICEK’s Czech Republic won the team Gold medal with an overall score of 353 hits (Milos SLAVICEK, JAkub TOMECEK, Jakub NOVOTA).

Team Silver went to the United States of America (Wilfred BLANCHARD, Jon McGRATH and Chris HAVER), with an combined score of 349 targets. Sweden placed in third winning team Bronze thanks to the 348 hits scored by Marcus SVENSSON, Stefan NILSSON and Robin GUSTAFSSON.

Event Junior, Milos Slavicek, Skeet Men