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China wins World Cup Day 2 Gold

Posted: Tue May 10, 2005 7:29 pm
by USAS
USA Shooting & U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit

FORT BENNING, Ga. - Zongliang Tan clinched China’s second Gold Medal in just as many events at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup USA, today, in Men’s 50-Meter Free Pistol at the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit’s Pool Range.

Tan finished the qualifying round with a 572, three points above Martin Tenk, of the Czech Republic. Tan went on to hit a 95.8 in the finals, which would be more than enough to walk away with the win. Tenk finished in second place with a 94.8 in the finals and a 663.8 total score.

In third place, the 2004 Olympic Gold medalist in this event, Mikhail Nestruev of Russia, made a big come-from-behind move in the finals to beat Francesco Bruno of Italy with a 662.4 total score. Bruno had a two-point lead going into the finals, but Nestruev took advantage of a couple of poor shots by the Italian in the final to push him off of the medal stand. Franck Dumoulin, of France, finished in fourth, whereas Bruno ended up in fifth.

Staff Sgt. John C. Ennis, of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, was the top finisher for the USA in Free Pistol. Ennis finished in 12th place with a 561 total score. The next USA finisher was Sgt. 1st Class Daryl Szarenski, also of the USAMU, who finished in 19th place with a 557 and Jason Turner of Colorado Springs who shot a 556 and ended up in 21st place.

There will be a lot going on at the Fort Benning ranges May 11 as the Men’s 50-Meter Free Rifle Prone event, the Men’s 10-Meter Air Pistol event and the Women’s Sport Pistol event will all wrap up. The award ceremony will take place immediately following the 10-Meter Air Pistol finals at Hook Range around 3 p.m.

When the first Gold, Silver and Bronze medals of the 2005 World Cup USA were awarded May 9 at Hook Range, three flags of China flew above the medal stand.

Li Du, Yinghui Zhao and Liuxi Wu of China took first second and third place respectively in the Women’s Air Rifle competition. Du and Wu were tied going into the final, each with a score of 398 points out of a possible 400 and Zhao shot the best qualification score with a 399. Du shot a 104, which was the highest finals score, Zhao fired a 103 and Wu a 103.8 out of a possible 109 in the final; this put Wu in third place for the Bronze Medal with a total score of 501.8 and left Du and Zhao tied for first place with a score of 502. Du won the Gold Medal after winning the shoot-off in which she shot a 10.6 and Zhao got a 10.4.

Out of the 58 competitors, USA shooters Sarah Blakeslee of Vancouver, Wash., finished in 13th place with a score of 394, Emily Caruso of Colorado Springs, Colo., was 28th with a 392 and Elizabeth Tidmore of Decatur, Ga., got 40th place with a 388.

More than 400 world-class shooters from 51 countries are competing in the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup USA, which kicked off May 6. The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit is hosting the World Cup USA through May 15 and the competition will be conducted by USA Shooting, the U.S. Olympic governing body for the Olympic shooting sports and those governed by the ISSF.

Every year, qualified shooters of each of the Olympic shooting disciplines participate in four World Cups. Not only can shooters win medals and set world records at the World Cups, but they can also win quota slots for their countries to compete in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

The competition schedule for the World Cup USA is as follows:
May 11

9 to 10:15 a.m. - Men’s Free Rifle Prone matches at Pool Outdoor Range.
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Men’s Air Pistol matches at Pool Indoor Range.
9 a.m. to noon - Women’s Sport Pistol matches at Phillips Range.
11:15 a.m. - Men’s Free Rifle Prone final at Pool Outdoor Range.
12:15 to 5:15 p.m. - Women’s Sport Rifle matches at Pool Outdoor Range.
1 p.m. - Women’s Sport Pistol final at Phillips Range.
2 p.m. - Men’s Air Pistol final at Pool Indoor Range.
3 p.m. - Men’s Free Rifle Prone, Men’s Air Pistol and Women’s Sport Pistol award ceremonies at Hook Range.
May 12

9 to 11:15 a.m. - Women’s Sport Rifle matches at Pool Outdoor Range.
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Men’s Air Rifle matches at Pool Indoor Range.
12:15 p.m. - Women’s Sport Rifle final at Pool Outdoor Range.
2 p.m. - Men’s Air Rifle final at Pool Indoor Range.
3 p.m. - Women’s Sport Rifle and Men’s Air Rifle award ceremonies at Hook Range.
May 13

9 to 10:15 a.m. - Women’s Air Pistol matches at Pool Indoor Range.
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. - Men’s Three Position Free Rifle matches at Pool Outdoor Range.
9 a.m. to 2 p.m. - Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol matches at Phillips Range.
1:15 a .m. - Women’s Air Pistol final at Pool Indoor Range.
1 p.m. - Women’s Air Pistol award ceremony at Hook Range.
May 14

9 a.m. to noon - Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol matches at Phillips Range.
9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Men’s Three Position Free Rifle matches at Pool Outdoor Range.
2:15 p.m. - Men’s Three Position Free Rifle final at Pool Outdoor Range.
1 p.m. - Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol final at Phillips Range.
3:30 p.m. - Men’s Three Position Free Rifle and Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol award ceremonies at Hook Range.
May 15
Delegations depart.
Media are invited to cover the competition but should coordinate with the Public Affairs Office before coming to post. Call (706) 545-5436 or e-mail paula.pagan@usarec.army.mil <mailto:paula.pagan@usarec.army.mil> for more information.