Drama and emotions: Italy’s De Filippis won the Trap Men Gold medal, taking the place of his teammate Viganò, who lost the brightest medal at the last shot after leading the match since the qualifications.
“I wanted to thank my coach Albano Pera, and I think that winning a Gold medal is the best way to do it!” Said Mauro De Filippis, the Italian shooter who won today’s Trap Men Final at the last shot, winning a four-way shoot-off for the Gold medal.
“Albano has always believed in me throughout all these years, and he gave me this chance to compete here, in my home country. I am glad I made it!” continued the 29-year old Italian shooter, who had never won an ISSF medal before.
De Filippis won a breathtaking match, today, turning the tables of a competition which did not start in the best way for him. Qualified throughout a shoot off with the lowest score (119 targets) he simply gave his best throughout the final round, hitting 24 out of 25 final targets. As his teammate Viganò who had been leading the match since the first shot missed his last two targets, De Fillippis catch him up, making it into a four-way shoot-off for the Gold medal.
Zeroing in, De Filippis did not miss the Golden chance, and turned out to be the strongest in the shoot-off, outdoing Spain’s Fernandez, a disappointed Viganò, and Croatia’s Josip Glasnovic, securing the Gold medal with a total score of 143+7 points.
“When I passed through the first shoot-off, I regrouped and tried to stay calm. I had nothing to loose. I was not feeling too much pressure then, I enjoyed the competition and the great experience to be in such a high level match!” Said the Italian shooter “It’s simply great to win my first World Cup here in Italy!”
Croatia’s Josip Glasnovic, 27, missed his seventh shoot-off target, and was left in second with a total score of 143+6 targets. The Croatian shooter has won his last ISSF medal, a Bronze, here in Lonato during the 2005 ISSF World Championship.
De Filippis’ teammate Rodolfo Viganò grabbed the Bronze, loosing the Gold medal at the last spine chilling shot. The 39-year old Italian shooter, coming back to an ISSF final after missing since a few years, led the match right to the 23rd target, missing then the last two clays and finishing in the shoot-off. Eventually, he secured the Bronze medal with 143+4 targets, leaving Spain’s Fernandez in fourth with 143+3 hits.
“I simply lost that last target. It’s painful to lose a Gold medal in that way.” Said Viganò right after the shoot off “At the same time, I am happy that I made it to the podium. I have been in the national team for almost 23 years, now. – Continued the Italian shooter, who had won several ISSF World Cup medals in the nineties - And Loanto’s is my home range. I was glad to be here today, to compete in front of my people!”