The ISSF Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun World Cup in Gabala was closed by today’s Trap Men final. 34 Rio 2016 Olympic quotas were distributed to 25 countries in 15 shooting events. Three world records were equalled.
Today’s Trap Men final concluded the 2015 ISSF Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun World Cup held in Gabala, Azerbaijan, from the 7th through the 15th of August.
The 2004 Olympic Champion Alexey Alipov of Russia claimed the last gold medal of the competition. The 40-year old shooter beat the reigning Olympic Champion Giovanni Cernogoraz of Croatia (32) in the gold medal match by 15 to 14 hits. Alipov had qualified for the final phase of the event with an almost perfect score of 124 hits out of 125 targets, and then nailed two perfect rounds in the semi-final (15 hits) and in the medal match (again 15), leaving no chances to his opponents. It’s not the first medal won by the Russian shooter in Azerbaijan. Alipov had indeed finished atop of the European Games’ podium in Baku, earlier this year.
Cernogoraz claimed today’s silver medal (qualifications: 123+13, semi-final: 14+4; final: 14), as well as an Olympic quota place for Croatia, which will give him the chance to defend his title in Rio, next year. Bronze went to the 32-year old Italian shooter Erminio Frasca, third with 13 hits in the bronze medal match (qualifications: 124 targets; semi-final: 14+3 targets), enough to bring him back on an ISSF podium after a three-year long absence from the scene. Frasca beat Turkey’s first-time finalist Erdinc Kebapci of Turkey (22), who placed in fourth with 12 hits (qualifications: 124 targets, semi-final: 14+2 targets), securing the second Rio 2016 Olympic berth to be awarded today.
“It feels great to be back atop of the podium,” Alipov said. “The ISSF rules changed after the last Games and it took me a while to get used to it. But finally I made it, I am back.”
Over 1100 athletes coming from 90 countries competed in the last world cup stage of the season, trying to secure Olympic quotas and world cup finals qualification points.
The People’s Republic of China finished atop of the overall medal standings of the competition, with 6 golds, 4 silvers and 2 bronze, for an unmatchable total of 12 medals. The United States of America finished in second place with 5 medals: 2 golds, 2 silvers, 1 bronze. The Russian Federation followed in third, with the same number of podiums: 2 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronzes.
Three world records were equalled during the stage: the Trap Men’s (75 targets, by Jean Pierre Brol Cardenas of Guatemala), the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women’s (592 points, by Sylwia Bogacka of Poland) and the Skeet Women’s (75 targets, by Aleksandra Jarmolinska also from Poland).
34 Olympic Quotas were awarded to 25 different countries, in Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun events, here in Gabala. 267 Rio 2016 shooting quotas have been distributed by the ISSF so far, since August 2014. The remaining 90 quotas will be awarded at the ISSF Shotgun World Championship to be held in Lonato (ITA) from the 9th through the 18th of September, and at selected continental championships: 2015 African Championship in Cairo (EGY), 2015 Asian Championship in Kuwait City (KUW), 2015 Oceania Championship in Sydney (AUS) and 2016 European Championship in Gyor (HUN). Nine additional Olympic quotas are granted to the host country Brazil, and 24 quotas will be assigned by the Tripartite Commission, for an overall total of 390 Olympic spots.
Gabala closes the world cup’s regular season. The ISSF World Cup Finals will now be held in Munich, Germany (Rifle and Pistol events) from the 1st through the 7th of September, and in Nicosia, Cyprus (Shotgun events) from the 15th through the 21st of October.
At the Finals, the best athletes of the season will meet the title defenders, and the champions of the upcoming ISSF Shotgun World Championship in Lonato. Find the list of athletes who are already qualified here.
All the final matches of the upcoming competitions will be broadcasted live, through the ISSF website http://www.issf-sports.org
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