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Final Trap Men

Trap Men – European Champion Fernandez earned World title

50th ISSF World Championship All Events · Munich, GER

Fernandez secured Spain’s first Olympic Quota Place, winning the World Championship just weeks after his success at the Europeans.

“2010 is the year of Spain!” European people say when speaking about sport, thinking about football, cycling and motors, and from today on this sentence also refers to the shooting sport, thanks to Alberto Fernandez, 27, from Madrid, who become the new Trap Men world champion, winning Spain’s first Olympic Quota Place (a qualification card for the 2012 London Games)

Fernandez won all, this year. Crowned European Champion just a few weeks ago in Kazan (RUS), the Spanish athlete won the today’s World Championship with a total score of 143 hits out of 150 targets, adding a new title to his medal showcase, and becoming the first Spanish athlete to be qualified for the London 2012 Games.

Squeezing into today’s final round through a shoot-off with 121+2 hits after the qualification, the 27-year old Spanish shooter climbed up the scoreboard by hitting 22 out of 25 targets during the final match, leaving behind his titled opponents.

“I am so happy, this is my best result ever. This is a dream which becomes true” Said Fernandez, surrounded by his numerous teammates (the Spanish team brought here in Munich 40 shooters) while interviewed by the Eurovision Network “I will go to the Games, this is simply great!”

The Silver medal went to the 2004 Olympic Champion, Russia’s Alexei Alipov, who celebrated his birthday (he will turn 35 in 3 days) with an Olympic Quota Place, a pass for the 2012 Games “This is a nice birthday present!” said the Russian champion “I am closer to the next Olympics, and this is the best thing that I could present myself!” Qualified for the medal match with 122 hits, Alipov hit 20 targets in the final, ending up with a total score of 142 targets. Then, he had to shoot-off for Silver against Czech Republic Liptak, eventually outdoing him by 2 to 1 hits.

“I will definitely have to train more for shoot-offs!” said smiling the Bronze medallist, Czech Republic’s Jiri Liptak, 28, who secured a spot on the podium and an Olympic Quota Places with 142+1 hits “My teammates were kidding me just yesterday, saying that I am too old and that it was time for me to win something. I guess I surprised them, now!” The Czech shooter wasn’t indeed one of the favourite to win: ranked 18th in the world, he had never made it into a world-level final, before.

Italy’s Giovanni Pellielo, holding three world titles won in nineties, ended up in fourth place, securing a Quota Place that could warranty him the participation in his sixth Olympics, in 2012. The 40-year old athlete had led the qualification with 123 hits out of 125 targets, but then missed 5 targets out of the first 10 during the final match, landing in fourth with a total score of 141 hits.

He was followed in fifth by China’s Li Yajun, who grabbed the last available Quota with a total score of 140 clays, while USA’s first time finalist Jacob Turner ended up in sixth with 139 hits, missing the Olympic qualification by one target.

Marco Dalla Dea

 

ISSF Partners