BELGRADE, Serbia - Fifty-six athletes representing 21 countries are taking part this week in the 2007 International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup Final in Shotgun in Kovilovo. Only the best athletes are invited to take part in the closing event of the 2007 ISSF World Cup Series; the title defenders of each event face off against the eight best shooters in a single discipline from this year's World Cups along with the medalists from the 2007 ISSF Shotgun World Championships.
The Women's Skeet Competition was conducted Oct. 17 with Haley Dunn of Eddyville, Iowa, taking the top American finish in fifth place with a score of 95 targets. Three-time Olympic medalist Kim Rhode of El Monte, Calif., finished the day in 11th place with a score of 64 targets. Winning the Women's Skeet World Cup Final was Erdzhanik Avetisyan of Russia with an almost perfect score of 98 targets.
Finishing close behind her were Chiara Cainero of Italy and Russian teammate Svetlana Demina who scored 97 and 96 targets respectively.
The Men's Trap competition saw three-time Olympian and 1996 Bronze Medalist Lance Bade of Vancouver, Wash., as the highest American finisher in sixth place with a score of 133 targets. Italian teammates Erminio Frasca and Massimiliano Malo had a shoot off for the top spot.
Both finished the final with 140 shots, but Frasca was able to out shoot Malo in the shoot off for the Gold. Malo received the Silver and Russia's Alexey Alipov earned the Bronze with a score of 139 targets.
Oct. 20, three of America's strongest Double Trap shooters, all members of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit of Fort Benning, Ga., will compete for the Gold Medal. Spc. Joshua M. Richmond of the USAMU won the Gold at World Cup Italy and with that win secured an Olympic quota spot for the USAMU's Staff Sgt. William H. Keever, a 2000 Olympian, has had strong showings in the 2007 World Cup season, including a Bronze Medal at World Cup Changwon. Rounding out the squad is two-time Olympian Pfc. Walton Glenn Eller of the USAMU who won the Gold Medal alongside teammate Keever at World Cup Changwon.
For complete Shotgun World Cup Final results, visit the following link on ISSF TV's website:
http://www.issf.tv/issftv_table.aspx?mo ... ist=746&co
llapse=results.
(Formed in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to raise the standards of marksmanship throughout the U.S. Army, the Army Marksmanship Unit is assigned to the Accessions Support Brigade of the U.S. Army Accessions Command. The Marksmanship Unit trains its Soldiers to win competitions and enhances combat readiness through train-the-trainer clinics, research and development. For more information on the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, contact the Public Affairs Office at (706) 545-5436, paula.j.randall@us.army.mil or www.usamu.com. USA Shooting is recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Shooting Sport Federation as the national governing body for the Olympic and international shooting sports in the United States. For more information on USA Shooting, call (719) 866-4896, marybeth.vorwerk@usashooting.org or
http://www.usashooting.com.)
Wold Cup Finals
Moderators: pilkguns, m1963, David Levene, Spencer, Richard H