News

-15 to the Games. If you want drama, watch the Skeet Women final

XXX Olympic Games · London, GBR

EVENT PREVIEW: The Skeet Women event is announced to be one of the most exciting matches of the XXX Olympic Games in London. USA’s Kim Rode could establish a record, winning five medals back to back in five Olympics, but skilled shooters from all over the world will try to keep her down the podium.

If you’re looking for drama, well, the Skeet Women event is what you need. Fast. Thrilling. Unpredictable. We’re at the Royal Artillery Barracks, in London, but let’s look back at the last Olympic edition. In Beijing 2008, the three medalists – Italys Cainero, the USAs Rhode and Germanys Brinker – finished all tied. All with the same total score of 93 hits. After participating in three qualification series of 25 targets each, and a tough Olympic final, a shoot-off was needed to determine the podium placement. A sudden-death tiebreaker that can change the course of a four-year long Olympic preparation. Trainings, efforts, tears… if you miss you’re out, and the title is lost. In Beijing, Chiara Cainero of Italy won the match, taking the gold back home. Rhode and Brinker landed in second and third. But they believe this could be their time to finish up there. Brinker is back and in great shape after taking some time off after the last Olympics (she got married and had a baby with German skeet champion Tino Wenzel in 2010).

 

On her own right, Rhode is simply the most successful female clay shooter of all times. And that’s not just because of her 23 ISSF World Cup medals… She won two Olympic Gold medals and a Bronze in 1996, 2000 and 2004, shooting Double Trap. Then, when the Double Trap Women event was discontinued as an Olympic event, she turned to Skeet, winning Silver in Beijing. And, winning in London, she could make history as one of the most successful American athletes. In these years she climbed the Skeet Women world ranking to first place, and just a couple of months ago she set the new Skeet Women World Record while shooting on her home turf at the ISSF World Cup in Tucson (Arizona). When she competes, she is statistically the best. Out of 17 events she attended in the last four years, she made it into 15 finals, finishing 12 times with a medal (6 times on the highest step of the podium).

 

But the Games are the Games, there’s no time to do the math during such a match. And there are a number of shooters ready to fight. Besides the title defender Cainero, Chinese star Wei Ning, ranked third in the world, will do her best to earn a medal: she won the 2012 ISSF Pre-Olympic World Cup in London last April. And we should not forget to mention current Final World Record holder, Slovakias Danka Bartekova, who finished in second at the pre-Olympic test. “When we first walked into the range we were worried that it wouldn’t work. But the facilities are actually fine,” Bartekova commented at the time. “The range is not one of the easiest. You kind of “loose” the targets on station 2 and 6, when the clays fly between the net and the sky,” she added. And during the Games, to lose one target more than the others, just one of those little orange disks flying so fast and so far, will definitely mean to be out.

 

Skeet Women

Date of the Final in London: Sunday, 29.07.2012 at 14:00

 

Reigning Olympic Medallists

Rank

Name (NOC)

2008 Olympic Score

1

CAINERO Chiara (ITA)

93 (72+21)

2

RHODE Kimberly (USA)

93 (70+23)

3

BRINKER Christine (GER)

93 (70+23)

 

 

 

 

 

Current World Ranking Leaders

Rank

Name (NOC)

1

RHODE Kimberly (USA)

2

BARTEKOVA Danka (SVK)

3

WEI Ning (CHN)

 

Current World Record Holder

Record

Name (NOC)

Score

Date

Competition

WR 

RHODE Kimberly (USA)

75

25.03.12

WC Tucson (USA)

FWR 

BARTEKOVA Danka (SVK)

99 (74+25) 

09.07.08 

ECH Nicosia (CYP)

 

Current Olympic Record Holder

Record

Name (NOC)

Score

Date

Competition

OR 

CAINERO Chiara (ITA)

72 

14.08.2008 

OG Beijing (CHN)

FOR 

CAINERO Chiara (ITA)

93 (72+21) 

14.08.2008 

OG Beijing (CHN)

FOR 

BRINKER Christine (GER)

93 (70+23) 

14.08.2008 

OG Beijing (CHN)

FOR 

RHODE Kimberly (USA)

93 (70+23) 

14.08.2008 

OG Beijing (CHN)

 

ISSF NEWS Magazine Super 25 Chart

Name (NOC)

World

Rank

Olympic

Participation

2009-2012 Results

2009-2012

Medals

Best Results

Starts

Finals

Wins

Quali

Finals

RHODE Kimberly (USA)

1

4

17

15

6

12

75

25

WEI Ning (CHN)

3

2

15

11

3

8

74

25

WENZEL Christine (GER)

4

1

10

7

3

7

74

25

BARTEKOVA Danka (SVK)

2

1

18

14

2

7

74

25

SPADA Katiuscia (ITA)

23

0

15

6

1

5

73

24

DEMINA Svetlana (RUS)

31

5

13

7

1

3

73

25

CAINERO Chiara (ITA)

13

2

16

9

2

2

73

24

ZHANG Donglian (CHN)

7

0

8

3

1

2

72

24

JIEWCHALOEMMIT Sutiya (THA)

8

1

14

7

 

2

74

24

CONNOR Caitlin (USA)

19

0

9

7

 

2

72

25

ALLEN Elena (GBR)

18

1

17

4

 

2

74

25

DUNN Haley (USA)

0

0

8

3

1

1

73

24

ZHANG Shan (CHN)

10

2

7

2

1

1

73

25

CROVETTO CHADID Francisca (CHI)

5

0

7

2

 

1

72

22

BACOSI Diana (ITA)

6

0

6

2

 

1

72

22

YU Xiumin (CHN)

76

0

8

2

 

1

71

25

DROZD Brandy N (USA)

9

0

2

1

 

1

70

22

ANDREOU Panagiota (CYP)

22

0

6

1

 

1

70

24

GRINNELL Jaiden (USA)

37

0

7

1

 

1

72

24

SMOTEK Connie (USA)

76

2

2

1

 

1

72

25

ENGLISH Amber (USA)

76

0

8

1

 

1

72

24

SHI Hong Yan (CHN)

0

0

3

1

 

1

74

24

 

Marco Dalla Dea

 

ISSF Partners