Silvana Stanco returned to Doha, Qatar to win gold again at the 2025 ISSF World Cup Final, two years after winning her first title in the competition in the women's trap.
In a showdown between the 2023 and 2024 World Cup Final champions, the Italian defeated San Marino's Alessandra Perilli in a shoot-off for the gold medal, while Turkey's Rumeysa Kaya of Turkey took the bronze medal.
Qualification
Italy's Silvana Stanco led the way over 125 shots, with the Olympic silver medallist finishing with a total of 121, one ahead of Olympic bronze medallist Penny Smith from Australia on 120. Rumeysa Kaya of Turkey and Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallist Alessandra Perilli of San Marino were third and fourth on 117, followed by Australian Laetisha Scanlan and AIN athlete Lada Denisova on 116 and 114 respectively.
Spain's Mar Molne and Sandra Bernal of Poland took the final two spots on 112 and 111, with Carey Garrison of the United States, Liu Wan-Yu of Chinese Taipei, Ray Bassil of Qatar and Kholoud Hassan Al-Khalaf of Qatar the non-qualifiers.
In a showdown between the 2023 and 2024 World Cup Final champions, the Italian defeated San Marino's Alessandra Perilli in a shoot-off for the gold medal, while Turkey's Rumeysa Kaya of Turkey took the bronze medal.
Qualification
Italy's Silvana Stanco led the way over 125 shots, with the Olympic silver medallist finishing with a total of 121, one ahead of Olympic bronze medallist Penny Smith from Australia on 120. Rumeysa Kaya of Turkey and Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallist Alessandra Perilli of San Marino were third and fourth on 117, followed by Australian Laetisha Scanlan and AIN athlete Lada Denisova on 116 and 114 respectively.
Spain's Mar Molne and Sandra Bernal of Poland took the final two spots on 112 and 111, with Carey Garrison of the United States, Liu Wan-Yu of Chinese Taipei, Ray Bassil of Qatar and Kholoud Hassan Al-Khalaf of Qatar the non-qualifiers.
The Final
Much like the skeet competitions, trap now featured more athletes with less targets than before. Silvana Stanco and Alessandra Perilli set the standard with five from five, with 30 in total. It was the necessary start for both, with the first elimination set at target 10.
Sandra Bernal sat at the bottom with two from her five, with Lada Denisova on three. The rest of the field had four each. Ultimately, this would be the difference, as both struggled in the second set of five. Bernal would miss two more times and Denisova four times, finishing in seventh and eighth.
Two more would leave after 15 targets and after a score of four at the start, world champion Mar Molne missed three more, sitting on six at the bottom of the table. Consecutive misses for Penny Smith put her one ahead, with a gap of two to Laetisha Scanlan and Rumeysa Kaya, who cleared all five alongside Stanco and Perilli, who were yet to miss.
Perilli would miss on her 12th target, giving Stanco a short reprieve. The Italian would miss both the 13th and 15th targets, putting the Sammarinese athlete in the lead. Kaya and Scanlan remained safe, having missed one each and putting them level with Stanco, albeit behind based on their starting number. Both Smith and Molne would miss once more, unable to bridge the gap above them, and would be eliminated.
Much like the skeet competitions, trap now featured more athletes with less targets than before. Silvana Stanco and Alessandra Perilli set the standard with five from five, with 30 in total. It was the necessary start for both, with the first elimination set at target 10.
Sandra Bernal sat at the bottom with two from her five, with Lada Denisova on three. The rest of the field had four each. Ultimately, this would be the difference, as both struggled in the second set of five. Bernal would miss two more times and Denisova four times, finishing in seventh and eighth.
Two more would leave after 15 targets and after a score of four at the start, world champion Mar Molne missed three more, sitting on six at the bottom of the table. Consecutive misses for Penny Smith put her one ahead, with a gap of two to Laetisha Scanlan and Rumeysa Kaya, who cleared all five alongside Stanco and Perilli, who were yet to miss.
Perilli would miss on her 12th target, giving Stanco a short reprieve. The Italian would miss both the 13th and 15th targets, putting the Sammarinese athlete in the lead. Kaya and Scanlan remained safe, having missed one each and putting them level with Stanco, albeit behind based on their starting number. Both Smith and Molne would miss once more, unable to bridge the gap above them, and would be eliminated.
Shoot-Off Goes the Way of Stanco for ISSF World Cup Final Gold
Both Stanco and Perilli were flawless through the next five targets, which would decide who would get on the podium behind them. Kaya's score of five would be the difference in the end, making sure she would at least get a bronze. A miss for Scanlan on target 18 gave her breathing room, knowing she would stay ahead based on her seeding.
Target 21 saw misses for both Stanco and Kaya, who were battling to stay in the competition. With the Italian with the superior starting number, she would make it into the top two as both athletes scored their next four. Perilli momentarily had a two-shot lead, but would miss too on the 23rd target, keeping her lead at one. By this stage, there were just two athletes left in the competition after 25 targets - the point of the first elimination under the old 50-target, six-athlete format.
A miss from the Italian on target 26 gave Perilli a two-shot lead again, but it would come back down to one when she missed on target 27. Stanco hit the rest, while Perilli would record another miss, to bring it level at 26 apiece. This meant a shoot-off would commence between them. Both would clear the first target, but only Stanco would strike the second one successfully, giving her the victory over the defending champion.
Both Stanco and Perilli were flawless through the next five targets, which would decide who would get on the podium behind them. Kaya's score of five would be the difference in the end, making sure she would at least get a bronze. A miss for Scanlan on target 18 gave her breathing room, knowing she would stay ahead based on her seeding.
Target 21 saw misses for both Stanco and Kaya, who were battling to stay in the competition. With the Italian with the superior starting number, she would make it into the top two as both athletes scored their next four. Perilli momentarily had a two-shot lead, but would miss too on the 23rd target, keeping her lead at one. By this stage, there were just two athletes left in the competition after 25 targets - the point of the first elimination under the old 50-target, six-athlete format.
A miss from the Italian on target 26 gave Perilli a two-shot lead again, but it would come back down to one when she missed on target 27. Stanco hit the rest, while Perilli would record another miss, to bring it level at 26 apiece. This meant a shoot-off would commence between them. Both would clear the first target, but only Stanco would strike the second one successfully, giving her the victory over the defending champion.
What the Athletes Had to Say
Silvana Stanco: "I'm incredibly happy. Finally, I got the gold medal for the first time in a while. It has been way too many silvers and people have been making fun of me a little at home about the silver curse! But I'm glad to have the gold.
"It's an incredibly beautiful range and the weather is incredible. It's a little bit hot for me to be honest, but much better than at home where we actually couldn't shoot a lot. I trained very little for this competition because it's not exactly like December in Doha so I'm incredibly happy to get the gold medal with this preparation.
"I finished the final and I didn't even know if it was over or if I was missing some targets and I wasn't quite sure so it was a little bit confusing! And with eight people every round it's a little bit chaotic, but you just have to get used to it. The first 10 targets are the scariest part of this final because you can throw away everything in just 10 targets after two days of very strong shooting, so that was what I was most scared of, but I kept my calm and managed it. Alessandra was amazing and we fought until the end, so it was a really nice final. Change is always a little difficult to accept, but we will see how it goes."
Alessandra Perilli: "I'm a bit sad and upset about missing the last target, but it's good, at least it's another medal.
"It's a bit tough understanding the whole system for the first time and with two athletes leaving after just 10 targets, so that's something I will need to get used to."
Rumeysa Kaya: "I'm so excited to shoot because the World Cup Final is the best athletes competition and to be in the first new final. I like it, but I will need to try again because sometimes station-by-station it can be a difficult target and an easy target. It finished fast and we did not stay under the pressure inside the final, so I like it.
"The last year has been a hard time because our bodies are tired and I'm happy for my performance with the bronze medal because this year I take a medal for the first time, two times in fourth place, once in fifth and this is the last one and I'm happy to close the season like that.
Silvana Stanco: "I'm incredibly happy. Finally, I got the gold medal for the first time in a while. It has been way too many silvers and people have been making fun of me a little at home about the silver curse! But I'm glad to have the gold.
"It's an incredibly beautiful range and the weather is incredible. It's a little bit hot for me to be honest, but much better than at home where we actually couldn't shoot a lot. I trained very little for this competition because it's not exactly like December in Doha so I'm incredibly happy to get the gold medal with this preparation.
"I finished the final and I didn't even know if it was over or if I was missing some targets and I wasn't quite sure so it was a little bit confusing! And with eight people every round it's a little bit chaotic, but you just have to get used to it. The first 10 targets are the scariest part of this final because you can throw away everything in just 10 targets after two days of very strong shooting, so that was what I was most scared of, but I kept my calm and managed it. Alessandra was amazing and we fought until the end, so it was a really nice final. Change is always a little difficult to accept, but we will see how it goes."
Alessandra Perilli: "I'm a bit sad and upset about missing the last target, but it's good, at least it's another medal.
"It's a bit tough understanding the whole system for the first time and with two athletes leaving after just 10 targets, so that's something I will need to get used to."
Rumeysa Kaya: "I'm so excited to shoot because the World Cup Final is the best athletes competition and to be in the first new final. I like it, but I will need to try again because sometimes station-by-station it can be a difficult target and an easy target. It finished fast and we did not stay under the pressure inside the final, so I like it.
"The last year has been a hard time because our bodies are tired and I'm happy for my performance with the bronze medal because this year I take a medal for the first time, two times in fourth place, once in fifth and this is the last one and I'm happy to close the season like that.