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Sam Simonton, center, won gold in Women’s Skeet at the 2024 ISSF World Cup Final. Photo courtesy of the ISSF
By Brittany Nelson, USAS Public Relations & Communications Manager
COLO SPRGS, CO (Oct. 22, 2024) – Sam Simonton, of Gainesville, Georgia, was crowned of Women’s Skeet champion at the 2024 ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation) World Cup Final in New Delhi, India, Oct. 17.
“I’m happy to have won,” said Simonton, a 10-time international medalist. “It will probably take me some time to give it and myself some more credit. I proved a lot to myself this competition, specifically in the final.”
The annual ISSF World Cup Final is a prestigious competition where only athletes that are ranked top 10 in the world in their event are invited to compete. Simonton has competed in four World Cup Finals where she earned bronze in 2022 and her first gold this year.
“My goal was to win, but deeper into that, I wanted to shoot a good final,” said Simonton about her mindset going into the competition. “I’d been training some new things with my Army teammates, and I really wanted to see how they worked in the final. I’ve always recognized that finals have historically been my weakest. There is always room for improvement.”
Simonton shot a qualification score of 124/125 landing her in the final where her training paid off. In the final, she outshot Diana Bacosi, of Italy, who earned silver. Simonton’s teammate Dania Vizzi also earned a spot in the final where she finished fourth. View official results here.
“After the first station I hit 2/4 targets and that was not ideal,” said Simonton about the final. “I was just trying to keep staying alive the whole time. Even when I’d gotten a little bit of a lead by a target or two, I still treated myself as though I was behind, and I think that pressure helped.”
Simonton, a sergeant in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, was an Olympic alternate for both the Paris 2024 and Tokyo 2020 Games. She has her sights set on making the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
“It’s hard to fall short to the first alternate position two quads in a row and just walk away,” said Simonton. “I want to know what making that team is like. I want to be the best in the world on that stage.”
Simonton’s next competition will be the USA Shooting shotgun selection match in the spring of 2025.