Italy’s Fabbrizi won his second Trap Men World title

Italy’s Massimo Fabbrizi became the new Trap Men World Champion, today, at the 2011 ISSF Shotgun World Championship in Belgrade, Serbia, with a total score of 149 hits.

“I still can’t believe I made it. I did not check the scoreboard; I did not pay attention to my opponents. I was just focusing on my targets, and after I hit the 23rd clay I knew I had become the new World Champion. It feels great!” The Italian shooter said right after the final, hugging his coach Albano Pera.

Fabbrizi turned out to be unbeatable since the qualification rounds. The 34-year old Italian champion hit 125 targets out of 125, equalling the current World Record. A great score that placed him in first in the final round, where he hit 24 out of 25 targets to win the World Champion title with an overall score of 149 hits: another Equalled World Record.

“To hit 24 targets using one barrel only, it’s a great result for me. And to shoot two records in one match is extreme!” Massimo commented after his last shot. 

“I only missed one in the final, I shot below it. I don’t know why it happened, and sincerely speaking I don’t care about it. I won the match, that’s the only important thing!” He said about missing his fifth final clay.

Fabbrizi is not new to the golden feeling of a world championship victory: the Italian shooter from Monteprandone had indeed already won an ISSF Shotgun World Championship in 2005, shooting on his home court layouts of Lonato (Italy).

“Compared to my previous victory, I have been working harder this time. I had to train more, and put more efforts in it, to finish in first here in Belgrade.”

“I dedicate this medal to my family, to the Italian Federation and to the Amra dei Carabinieri, who have been supporting me so much.” Said Fabbrizi, who will be competing at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup Final in Al Ain (UAE), the last match of the year, starting on the 30th of September. “I will have to postpone my holidays!” He concluded with a smile on his face.

OLYMPIC CHAMPION KOSTELECKY SECURES SILVER

The Silver medal went to the Olympic Champion Davi Kostelecky of Czech Republic, who finished in second place with an overall score of 146 hits. After making it into the final round with a qualification score of 122 hits passing through a shoot-off, the 36-year old Czech champion hit 24 targets straight in the final, dropping just the very last clay. Kostelecky had won a Silver medal on the same layout just a few weeks ago, during the European Championship held here in Belgrade.

BRONZE AND OLYMPIC QUOTA TO FRANCE

One target behind Kostelecky, the Bronze medal went to France’s Stephane Clamens, who also secure the Olympic Quota Place to be assigned today. The 40-year old athlete, ranked 58th in the world, surprised everybody by making it into the final (his first time in a World Championship) with 122 hits, and then scored 23 clays in the final, ending up with a total score of 145 hits. The Quota Place opens to him the doors of his fourth Olympic participation: Clemens has indeed participated in all the Olympic editions since Sydney 2000.

Two other Italians, the three-time Olympic medallist Giovanni “Johnny” Pellielo and the World Cup multi-medallist Rodolfo Viganò participated in the final match, finishing in fourth and sixth place with 144 and 142 hits, respectively. Poland’s Jaromir Wojtasiewicz, a first time finalist, closed the match between them, in fifth, with 144 total hits.

TEAMS: Italy scores a new World Record

The excellent performance of the three Italian shooters lifted Italy atop of the teams’s podium, with a new record score of 369 targets (New World Record). Czech Republic followed in second, with 362 points scored by Kostelecky, Jiri Gach and Jiri Liptak, while the teams’ Bronze went to Great Britain’s with Aaron Heading, Edward Ling and Carl Exton scoring 359 targets.

NEXT MEDAL MATCH: Trap Women

The next medal matches, the Trap Women Final, will take place on Thursday the 8th at 17.30 (GMT+1)