The French federal training center of Fleury-les-Aubrais hosted the 9th edition of the Grand Prix of France. The competition took place from the 13th to the 16th of February, welcoming more than 200 shooters coming from 12 nations and also representing 22 shooting clubs.
The final medal saw the Russian Federation finishing on top with 10 golds, eight silvers and five bronzes, followed by the host country with four golds, eight silvers and six bronzes.
Along the four competition days, the individual Air Rifle and Air Pistol events were contested twice, both in senior and junior category, while the two mixed team events were contested once.
Russian Federation’s Artem Chernousov and Anton Aristarkhov won gold in the two 10m Air Pistol Men matches, while Nicolas Thiel of Creps Bordeaux and Kako Mosulishvili of Georgia climbed atop the podium in the 10m Air Pistol Men Junior events.
2016 Olympic silver medalist Vitalina Batsarashkina, also of the Russian Federation, dominated the 10m Air Pistol Women matches, scoring 243.7 in her first final and 239.9 in her second one. Nino Khutsiberidze of Georgia — bronze medal winner at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games — and Annabelle Pioch of Creps Bordeaux split the glory in the two 10m Air Pistol Women Junior finals.
Moreover, the Russian duo composed by Batsarashkina and Chernousov added the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team title to their tally, with France’s Edouard Dortomb and Camille Jedrzeweski took gold in the junior mixed team final.
The two 10m Air Rifle Men matches saw Great Britain’s Dean Bale and Russian Federation’s Alexander Dryagin claim the brightest medal, along with Nathan Bailly of Creps Wattignies and Lucas Kryzs of France, who ruled the two 10m Air Rifle Men Junior finals.
Two Russian athletes pocketed gold in the 10m Air Rifle Women events: Luliia Karimova finished 1st with 252.6 points, while Anastasiia Galashina placed atop the table with 250.0. The two finals of the 10m Air Rifle Women Junior event, instead, saw two French youngsters win gold: Marine Jeannot with 247.0 points and Oceane Muller with 249.6.
Dryagin and Galashina also secured the top of the podium in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team match, while their younger teammates Daria Boldinova and Grigorii Shamakov claimed the 1st place in the junior final.