Women in action, in the 8th day of the Olympics at the Royal Artillery Barracks – the home shooting at London 2012. These are the last fights for women: Germany will try to finally pocket a medal in rifle, while Italy is looking for its first podium in trap.
50m Rifle 3 Positions Women event: Germany seeks medals
At the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women event, the German duo Pfeilschifter / Englader is favourite. The two expert teammates will try to secure Germany’s first shooting medals in this XXX Olympic Games.
Two German team-mates, have a duel at the top of the world ranking. Pfeilschifter, 41-years old, has the experience of a four-time World Champion and six-time World Cup Final winner. But she also has the bad experience of being a long-standing champion who has never won an Olympic medal.
Her best placement was indeed a fourth place in Sydney 2000. In Beijing, she did not even make it into the final. And, just as in 2008, she is approaching the Olympics with a series of good results (11 starts, 8 finals, 7 medals, 3 victories in the last 4 years), as well as a lot of pressure.
Barbara Engleder is ready to take off. The 30-year old shooter is the current World Champion and won last year’s World Cup Finals. In 2012, she won the pre-Olympic ISSF World Cup held at the Royal Artillery Barracks venue in London last April, showing confidence while competing in the impressive arena.
They will not be alone out there. The USA’s Jamie Lynn Gray (maiden name: Beyerle) finished under the spotlights more than once, and has a personal best of 593 points and a best final of 101.5 in the last Olympic cycle.
The current Olympic Champion of China, Du Li, is also ready to take any chance to step on the podium. Exactly like the 2008’s Olympic Silver medalist Katerina Emmons, who recently climbed back to the top of the world ranking and could be the surprise of these Games.
Trap Women event:
It’s raining, today, at the Royal Artillery Barracks, and this could affect the competition – some qualification rounds will most certainly take place under heavy rain, while others under a partially cloudy sky.
Italy’s Jessica Rossi, the 20-year old shooter from Crevalcore, near Bologna - Italy, is said to be one of the favorites in the race for the London podium. She won the 2009 ISSF World Championship, finishing in the spotlights at the age of 17, and since then she has entered 9 final matches, winning 8 medals (including 3 Gold). The area where she lives and train has recently been hit by an earthquake: Rossi had to leave her house for a few days, and said she would dedicate the medal to the victims of the natural disaster.
The 2008 Olympic Gold, Silver and Bronze medalists are also looking for a spot on the podium. Finland’s Satu Makela-Nummela, the reigning Olympic Champion, has not been having her best performances in the last Olympic cycle.
On the other hand, Slovakia’s Zuzana Stefecekova, Silver medalist in Beijijg, and the USA’s Corey Cogdell, Bronze in Beijing, have been two of the most consistent Trap Women shooters of the last four years, as you can appreciate in the table.
Spain's Fatima Galvez is one of the raising stars in this event and she collected a medal at all three International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) world cup events this year including gold in London which was held as the Olympic test event.