The European Championships Shotgun in Lonato, where finals start tomorrow, offer four quota places for the Paris 2024 Games – one each in the men’s and women’s individual trap and skeet.
For shotgun athletes this represents the last opportunity to secure a place at the Olympics via this route.
All four 2023 champions in the four Olympic events are among the 442 athletes from 42 nations who have gathered for competition at the Trap Concaverde Olympic Shooting Range, and all but one of last year’s medallists – Britain’s Amber Rutter – are also involved.
World trap champion Giovanni Cernogoraz of Croatia will defend his title against a field that includes 2023 silver medallist Mauro De Filippis of Italy and bronze medallist Sebastian Guerrero of France.
In the women’s trap event 2023 gold medallist Maria Coelho de Barros of Portugal faces last year’s silver medallist Silvana Stanco of Italy and bronze medallist Fatima Galvez of Spain.
Stanco’s compatriot Jessica Rossi, the London 2012 champion, is also in the field.
Both trap finals take place tomorrow, while the men’s and women’s skeet finals are scheduled for Friday, May 24.
Slovakia’s 39-year-old European and world champion Danka Bartekova (pictured) defends her skeet women title against 2023 silver medallist Diana Bacosi of Italy, while the men’s champion of last year, Charalambos Chalkiadakis of Greece, faces 2023 silver medallist Marlon Attard of Malta and bronze medallist Tammaro Cassandro of Italy.
The host nation field a team of 32, with the Czech Republic team numbering 26 and the British team, including Tokyo 2020 trap bronze medallist Matthew Coward-Holley, being 24-strong – as is the German team.
While many of the big names in the Olympic events have already attained quota places, there will be fierce competition for the remaining places available in Lonato.
In the women’s trap Turkey’s 23-year-old Rumesya Kaya and Poland’s Sandra Bernal, ninth at the Tokyo 2020 Games and fourth at last November’s World Cup Final in Doha, will be among those contesting places.
In the men’s trap those chasing a place include Spain’s 40-year-old Alberto Fernandez, four times an Olympian and twice world champion and others such as Matjaz Lepen of Slovenia, Jan Borkevec of the Czech Republic and 46-year-old Juka Laakso of Finland.
In the men’s skeet – where Greece’s world champion Efthimios Mitas is in the field - the place-chasers include Denmark’s Emil Peterson, the World Cup Final gold medallist, France’s Eric Delaunay and Ben Llewellin of Britain.
Once the final shotgun quota places have been won the next stage for those still seeking a place at Paris 2024 will be to qualify through the Olympic Qualification Ranking system, where spots will be allotted on June 9.