Qualifying Shoot-Off Determines Second, Third, and Fourth Place in the open event. Two out of three junior medalist came from Russia.
Emil Martinsson of Sweden is an accomplished and seasoned running target athlete. From his fourth place finish in the 2004 Olympic Games (10m Running Target) to multiple World Cup medals over the past ten years, Martinsson is familiar with the demands of a top-notch shooter. Martinsson only lost one point in the slow stage of the 50m Running Target Men event at this year’s World Shooting Championships.
With 299 points in the slow stage and 291 points in the fast stage, Martinsson finished at 590 points for the gold medal. The silver medalist was Russia’s Maxim Stepanov, another well-known running target shooter with many medals to his name. Stepanov was the 2009 Heinola World Cup gold medalist in both 50m Running Target Men and 50m Running Target Mixed Men. Moreover, at that same competition, he finished with a bronze medal in 10m Running Target Mixed men. The poise and focus he used to win those medals was useful yesterday as he entered a shoot-off with the Ukraine’s Alexander Zinenko and Russian teammate Mikhail Azarenko. The 19 points Stepanov scored in the shoot-off propelled him to the silver medal. Zinenko beat Azarenko by one point in the second phase of their shoot-off for a solid finish and the bronze medal.
Russian’s Junior Running Target Shooters Finish Two of Top Three. Yuri Dovgal of Russia finished with 586 total points--282 in the slow stage and 284 in the fast stage--for the gold medal and title of World Champion. Dovgal, a running taget shooter since 2007, posted one of his top ISSF recorded scores at this year’s World Shooting Championships in Munich, Germany. The silver medalist was Sami Heikkila of Finland with 584 total points. Heikkila finished with a bronze medal in 50m Running Target from the European Championships in 2009. Dovgal’s teammate Alexander Naumenko finished with the bronze medal at 577 points. Again, another impressive score from a Russian shooter who has only been on the international competition scene for a few years.
K. McGinty - USAShooting