The Italian shooter Silvana Stanco, 20, just won the Bronze medal at the Trap Women event in Acapulco. She had never competed in an ISSF World Cup before.
You never forget your first time. That is probably how this Acapulco World Cup sounds to Silvana Stanco: it was her first time taking part in this kind of competition, resulting straightaway in her first medal. Silvana didn't miss the chance to write her name into shooting sports history, in a very special moment of it: in fact, it was also the first time in the ISSF history for semi-final and medal matches to be conducted in a Shotgun event. The Italian athlete triumphed in the Bronze medal match, beating Germany's Jana Beckmann 13 hits to 10.
“I didn’t really expect to win this medal. - she said - I was not completely new to a World Cup, as I had participated as MQS in the past. But I was never part of the competition, so I won’t expect to win at my first try!”
Silvana was born in Switzerland, her mother is Swiss and she now lives in Winthertur. There she studies foreign languages at the University, while she trains in France and Germany.
So, what about Italy?
“I have an Italian passport – said Silvana -, since my father is Italian! Italy has a deeper culture of shotgun shooting. We don’t have many training chances in Switzerland. I'm not training in Italy because it's far away from my place, but I'd go there all the time for competitions or to participate in the National Team’s meetings.”
Silvana stepped on the same podium with the Olympic Champion Jessica Rossi, who won a Silver medal this time. The two of them have two things in common: the same coach and the same “How I started shooting” reason. The first is Albano Pera, the second is the father's passion for shooting.
“Anyway, the sport is not a job at the moment, - said the Italian athlete – I'm a student now. This has been a great experience. I am happy I have reached the podium, but I still don’t know if I'll take part in any other world cup, this year. It’s up to my coach, Albano Pera.”
After Jessica Rossi, the Italian Team gives shooting sports another enfant prodige, right in the new-rules competition: an interesting connection which charts the way of this sport forward to the future.