Australia has its first shooting medal of the Paris Olympics, with Penny Smith claiming bronze in the Women’s Trap
PARIS OLYMPICS WOMEN’S TRAP RESULTS
Penny maintained her composure throughout the six-woman final, reaching as high as second in the early going before finishing in an impressive third place with a score of 32.
A run of 14 consecutive hits across the opening four rounds, including a perfect second and third round, set up the medal win.
It was her second consecutive Olympic final, and she improved on her sixth- place finish in Tokyo three years ago.
Penny was thrilled with her performance and to walk away with an Olympic medal.
“I’m super proud of my bronze medal,” she said.
“I had to do it the hard way to shoot off to get into the final, and then obviously going in sixth, the weather was really hot and the conditions were fading.
“Really pleased to come away with the bronze, and thanks heaps to everyone that supported me along the way.”
The bronze medal is the first shooting medal for Australia since Catherine Skinner took gold in the same event in Rio 2016, and the third medal in Women’s Trap alongside Catherine’s Rio gold and Suzanne Balogh’s gold in Athens 2004.
It was a history-making final at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre, with Adriana Ruano Oliva winning Guatemala’s first-ever Olympic gold medal with an Olympic record score of 45. Italy’s Silvana Maria Stanco was third with 40 points.
Earlier in the day, Penny finished equal sixth in qualifying with a score of 121/125.
She then edged out China’s Zhang Xinquiu and Portugal’s Maria Ines Coelho de Barros in a three-person shoot-off to qualify for the final.
Teammate Catherine was unable to join her in the final, shooting 116/125 shots to finish in 17th place.
Ben Waterworth – Olympics.com.au
