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Australia’s marksmen Michael Diamond beat Italy’s Vigano at the shoot-off, after a brethtaking head to head duel throughout the final round.

The two-time Olympic Champion Michael Diamond of Australia won the Trap Men Final at the 2011 ISSF Shotgun World Cup Final, held this year in Al Ain, UAE.

The Australian champion finished on the highest step of the podium with an overall score of 142 (119+23) hits, after outdoing Italy’s Rodolfo Vigano in a shoot-off for Gold by 4 to 3 hits.

Diamond, 39, had qualified for this match by winning a Silver medal at this year’s ISSF World Cup Stage in Maribor. The expert Australian sharpshooter had already won three ISSF World Cup Finals, in his career, in 1997, 2000 and 2009.

Today’s Silver medal went to Rodolfo Vigano, a 40-year old shooter who finished in second with 142 (119+23) hits, after loosing the final shoot-off against Diamond. Qualified after winning a Silver medal at the first 2011 ISSF World Cup Stage, in Sydney, Vigano had already won an ISSF World Cup Final Silver in 1993, in Munich.

He was followed by the second Italian finalist, the world record holder Massimo Fabbrizi, 34, who ended up in third with a total score of 140 (119+21 hits) after missing his very last target.

The 2004 Olympic Champion, Russia’s Alexey Alipov, closed the match in fourth with 137 (117+20) hits, while the reigning Olympic Champion, Czech Republic’s David Kostelecky, placed in sixth with an overall score of 134 (117+17) hits, behind Spain’s Alberto Fernandez, fifth with 135 (116+19) hits.

By equalling two individual World Records, and setting a new team World Record, the Italian shooter secured his second World Championship title. Olympic Champ Kostelecky finished in Second. Olympic Quota to France. Great Britain’s made it to the teams’ podium.

Italy’s Massimo Fabbrizi became the new Trap Men World Champion, today, at the 2011 ISSF Shotgun World Championship in Belgrade, Serbia, with a total score of 149 hits.

“I still can’t believe I made it. I did not check the scoreboard; I did not pay attention to my opponents. I was just focusing on my targets, and after I hit the 23rd clay I knew I had become the new World Champion. It feels great!” The Italian shooter said right after the final, hugging his coach Albano Pera.

Fabbrizi turned out to be unbeatable since the qualification rounds. The 34-year old Italian champion hit 125 targets out of 125, equalling the current World Record. A great score that placed him in first in the final round, where he hit 24 out of 25 targets to win the World Champion title with an overall score of 149 hits: another Equalled World Record.

“To hit 24 targets using one barrel only, it’s a great result for me. And to shoot two records in one match is extreme!” Massimo commented after his last shot.

“I only missed one in the final, I shot below it. I don’t know why it happened, and sincerely speaking I don’t care about it. I won the match, that’s the only important thing!” He said about missing his fifth final clay.

Fabbrizi is not new to the golden feeling of a world championship victory: the Italian shooter from Monteprandone had indeed already won an ISSF Shotgun World Championship in 2005, shooting on his home court layouts of Lonato (Italy).

“Compared to my previous victory, I have been working harder this time. I had to train more, and put more efforts in it, to finish in first here in Belgrade.”

“I dedicate this medal to my family, to the Italian Federation and to the Amra dei Carabinieri, who have been supporting me so much.” Said Fabbrizi, who will be competing at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup Final in Al Ain (UAE), the last match of the year, starting on the 30th of September. “I will have to postpone my holidays!” He concluded with a smile on his face.

OLYMPIC CHAMPION KOSTELECKY SECURES SILVER

The Silver medal went to the Olympic Champion Davi Kostelecky of Czech Republic, who finished in second place with an overall score of 146 hits. After making it into the final round with a qualification score of 122 hits passing through a shoot-off, the 36-year old Czech champion hit 24 targets straight in the final, dropping just the very last clay. Kostelecky had won a Silver medal on the same layout just a few weeks ago, during the European Championship held here in Belgrade.

BRONZE AND OLYMPIC QUOTA TO FRANCE

One target behind Kostelecky, the Bronze medal went to France’s Stephane Clamens, who also secure the Olympic Quota Place to be assigned today. The 40-year old athlete, ranked 58th in the world, surprised everybody by making it into the final (his first time in a World Championship) with 122 hits, and then scored 23 clays in the final, ending up with a total score of 145 hits. The Quota Place opens to him the doors of his fourth Olympic participation: Clemens has indeed participated in all the Olympic editions since Sydney 2000.

Two other Italians, the three-time Olympic medallist Giovanni “Johnny” Pellielo and the World Cup multi-medallist Rodolfo Viganò participated in the final match, finishing in fourth and sixth place with 144 and 142 hits, respectively. Poland’s Jaromir Wojtasiewicz, a first time finalist, closed the match between them, in fifth, with 144 total hits.

TEAMS: Italy scores a new World Record

The excellent performance of the three Italian shooters lifted Italy atop of the teams’s podium, with a new record score of 369 targets (New World Record). Czech Republic followed in second, with 362 points scored by Kostelecky, Jiri Gach and Jiri Liptak, while the teams’ Bronze went to Great Britain’s with Aaron Heading, Edward Ling and Carl Exton scoring 359 targets.

NEXT MEDAL MATCH: Trap Women

The next medal matches, the Trap Women Final, will take place on Thursday the 8th at 17.30 (GMT+1)

By equalling two individual World Records, and setting a new team World Record, the Italian shooter secured his second World Championship title. Olympic Champ Kostelecky finished in Second. Olympic Quota to France. Great Britain’s made it to the teams’ podium.

Italy’s Massimo Fabbrizi became the new Trap Men World Champion, today, at the 2011 ISSF Shotgun World Championship in Belgrade, Serbia, with a total score of 149 hits.

“I still can’t believe I made it. I did not check the scoreboard; I did not pay attention to my opponents. I was just focusing on my targets, and after I hit the 23rd clay I knew I had become the new World Champion. It feels great!” The Italian shooter said right after the final, hugging his coach Albano Pera.

Fabbrizi turned out to be unbeatable since the qualification rounds. The 34-year old Italian champion hit 125 targets out of 125, equalling the current World Record. A great score that placed him in first in the final round, where he hit 24 out of 25 targets to win the World Champion title with an overall score of 149 hits: another Equalled World Record.

“To hit 24 targets using one barrel only, it’s a great result for me. And to shoot two records in one match is extreme!” Massimo commented after his last shot.

“I only missed one in the final, I shot below it. I don’t know why it happened, and sincerely speaking I don’t care about it. I won the match, that’s the only important thing!” He said about missing his fifth final clay.

Fabbrizi is not new to the golden feeling of a world championship victory: the Italian shooter from Monteprandone had indeed already won an ISSF Shotgun World Championship in 2005, shooting on his home court layouts of Lonato (Italy).

“Compared to my previous victory, I have been working harder this time. I had to train more, and put more efforts in it, to finish in first here in Belgrade.”

“I dedicate this medal to my family, to the Italian Federation and to the Amra dei Carabinieri, who have been supporting me so much.” Said Fabbrizi, who will be competing at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup Final in Al Ain (UAE), the last match of the year, starting on the 30th of September. “I will have to postpone my holidays!” He concluded with a smile on his face.

OLYMPIC CHAMPION KOSTELECKY SECURES SILVER

The Silver medal went to the Olympic Champion Davi Kostelecky of Czech Republic, who finished in second place with an overall score of 146 hits. After making it into the final round with a qualification score of 122 hits passing through a shoot-off, the 36-year old Czech champion hit 24 targets straight in the final, dropping just the very last clay. Kostelecky had won a Silver medal on the same layout just a few weeks ago, during the European Championship held here in Belgrade.

BRONZE AND OLYMPIC QUOTA TO FRANCE

One target behind Kostelecky, the Bronze medal went to France’s Stephane Clamens, who also secure the Olympic Quota Place to be assigned today. The 40-year old athlete, ranked 58th in the world, surprised everybody by making it into the final (his first time in a World Championship) with 122 hits, and then scored 23 clays in the final, ending up with a total score of 145 hits. The Quota Place opens to him the doors of his fourth Olympic participation: Clemens has indeed participated in all the Olympic editions since Sydney 2000.

Two other Italians, the three-time Olympic medallist Giovanni “Johnny” Pellielo and the World Cup multi-medallist Rodolfo Viganò participated in the final match, finishing in fourth and sixth place with 144 and 142 hits, respectively. Poland’s Jaromir Wojtasiewicz, a first time finalist, closed the match between them, in fifth, with 144 total hits.

TEAMS: Italy scores a new World Record

The excellent performance of the three Italian shooters lifted Italy atop of the teams’s podium, with a new record score of 369 targets (New World Record). Czech Republic followed in second, with 362 points scored by Kostelecky, Jiri Gach and Jiri Liptak, while the teams’ Bronze went to Great Britain’s with Aaron Heading, Edward Ling and Carl Exton scoring 359 targets.

NEXT MEDAL MATCH: Trap Women

The next medal matches, the Trap Women Final, will take place on Thursday the 8th at 17.30 (GMT+1)

The Spanish shooter beat 3 to 2 hits the two-time Olympic Champion of Australia Michael Diamond. Both the shooters were awarded an Olympic Quota Place for London 2012

Spain’s Jesus Serrano won today’s Trap Men Final at the 2011 ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Maribor, finishing on the highest step of the podium after a neck and neck duel against the two-time Olympic Champion Michael Diamond.

Serrano entered the medal match in the lead, with a qualification score of 124 hits, and one target of head start on his followers. Leading throughout the first part of the match, he lost his advantage by missing three out of the last 7 targets.

Australia’s top shooter Diamond, 39, who had qualified with 123 hits, took advantage of Serrano’s defiance, and tied him with a final score of 146 hits.

The two shooters met in a shoot-off to decide the Gold medal. Then, Serrano zeroed in and beat Diamond 3 to 2 hits, securing the brightest medal with a total score of 146+3 targets, leaving the Australian the Silver with 146+2 clays. Both the shooters were awarded an Olympic Quota Place, a qualification spot for the 2012 London Games.

“I have been fighting with the light!” commented Serrano right after the shoot-off “The final took place quite late, the sun was setting behind the hills, so at the end of the match I had problems in focusing on my targets, and I missed a cl”

“I went through a black out: my vision was not ok.” Continued the Spanish shooter. “Luckily, I was able to zero in just in time for the shoot-off, and I made it.”

“A gold medal and an Olympic Quota: It feels great!” He said.

The Bronze medal went to Great Britain’s Aaron Heading, 24, winning his first World Cup medal here in Maribor. The young shooter had made it to the final with a qualification score of 122+3 hits, by passing through a shoot-off. Then, hitting 22 out of 25 targets in the final, he climbed up to the podium leaving behind him Croatia’s Josip Glasnovic (28) and India’s Mansher Singh (45), in fourth and fifth with a total score of 143 hits. Portugal’s Jose Manuel Bruno Faria followed them closing the match in sixth and last place with 142 hits.

Almost 600 shooters coming from 77 countries are competing here in Maribor in the fourth and last ISSF Shotgun World Cup Stage of the year, trying to secure an Olympic Quota Place for the 2012 London Games

The next medal match will be held the day after tomorrow, on Tuesday the 12, at 15.40 (Slovenian time).

The 28-year old shooter qualified for the 2012 Olympics in London beating the 2004 Olympic Champ Alipov. The second Quota went to Czech Republic’s Jiri Gach, third on today’s podium.

It was Croatia’s Giovanni Cernogoraz who won today’s Trap Men final at the 2011 ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Beijing, China, finishing in first place with an overall score of 145 hits.

Together with the medal, the 28-year old shooter also secured an Olympic Quota Place, a pass to the 2012 Olympic Games.

Walking into the match in second place with a qualification score of 121 hits, Cernogoraz duelled throughout the whole medal round against the 2004 Olympic Champion Alexey Alipocv of Russia.

Hitting 24 out of 25 final targets, the Croatian shooter climbed in the lead, overtaking his Russian opponent who landed in second place with a total score of 144 hits, one target behind him.

“Before the final I was kind of nervous, but now I just feel great. Finally the medal came!” Cernogoraz said. Shooting since 1998, he had never won an ISSF World Cup medal, before.

“I had been closed to the victory several times. – He added – I even made it to the final, once. But there was always something going wrong, one or two targets missing, and I had never made it to the podium, before.”

“I trained a lot, technically, physically and psychologically, to win this Quota Place.” Explained the winner, who was ranked 64th in the world, until today.

“I will go to the Olympic Games. I won the Quota, and I will be representing my country in London, next year. That’s how it works, in Croatia.” He added.

Russia’s 35-year old Trap champion Alexey Alipov, who had started the match in the lead with 123 hits, ended up in second place, securing the Silver medal with an overall score of 144 targets.

Alipov was followed by Czech Republic’s Jiri Gach, 41, who finished in third place with a total score of 143 (120+23) hits, winning the Bronze medal and the second Olympic Quota to be awarded today. The Czech Shooter, ranked 44^th in the world, had finished on an ISSF podium just once, before, back in 1998.

The three shooters who had made the final through a shoot-off with 119 targets, Slovakia’s Marian Kovacocy, Czech Republic Jiri Liptak and Russia’s Igor Chebanov finished in fourth, fifth and sixth places with 137, 136 and 133 total hits, respectively.

The Trap Men Final closed this year’s ISSF Shotgun World Cup Stage in Beijing. After ten days, five competitions and ten Olympic Quotas assigned, the ISSF World Cup Series moves now to Fort Benning, USA, where a Rifle & Pistol stage will be held starting from May 14.