The Australian Team’s ISSF World Cup Final campaign came to a close overnight, marking an end to the 2025 International season.
Held in Doha, Qatar between the 4th and 9th of December, this year’s World Cup Final was attended by 129 world-class athletes across pistol, rifle and shotgun events, representing 33 international member federations. An ‘invitation only’ competition, athletes secured eligibility through several international performance pathways, including winning gold at a World Cup held in 2025, achieving a podium place at the World Championships, or qualifying through their ISSF World Ranking. The host nation also received invitations for its athletes to round out the 12 starts in each event.
Australia was represented by three athletes, including Jack Rossiter, who on the back of his most successful international year to date, qualified for the Men’s 10m Air Rifle event. Laetisha Scanlan and Penny Smith both qualified in Women’s Trap based on World Cup Gold medal wins in 2025. The team was also accompanied by Precision Senior Performance Coach, Petr Kurka and Shotgun Performance Coach, Renae Birgan.
2025 was an incredible year for Rossiter in the 10m Air Rifle event, achieving four international finals appearances, as well as winning a bronze medal at the ISSF Ruse Grand Prix in January. Rossiter is also the first Australian Rifle athlete since Warren Potent in 2016 to qualify for an invitation to the World Cup Final.
Continuing his incredible 2025 season in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle event, Rossiter shot a qualification score of 630.2, ranking 7th and securing a place in the 8-man final. In an incredibly fierce finals competition, Rossiter finished in 8th place.
Commenting on the World Cup Finals experience and the level of competition, Rossiter highlighted, “Just being here at the World Cup Final meant a lot to me. I guess it’s a little added confirmation that I’ve had a successful season. The level of competition was insanely high. I don’t think that anybody expected the scores to be quite this high, but considering that the World Cup Final was just after the World Championships, everybody was still in form.”
Reflecting on his successful 2025 season, Rossiter explained, “My goal at the start of the year was to make more World Cup finals in air rifle and to keep my performance level higher than last year and I feel like I’ve definitely achieved that.”
Looking forward to 2026, Rossiter highlighted, “My goal for next year is to improve on my finals. I’m really happy that I’ve improved and been able to make a lot of finals over the past 18 months, so I’d like to be able to capitalise on them now.”
“Since I’m now based in Norway, the plan is to attend a lot of competitions that are close to home throughout the season and to schedule everything so that I’ll peak for the World Championships in November.”
Australia was well represented in the Women’s Trap event with Scanlan and Smith both securing a place in the final as a result of their qualification score and ranking. Smith qualified 2nd with a score of 120 out of 125 targets, whilst Scanlan qualified 5th with a score of 116.
2025 has been a year of success for Scanlan, with gold medal wins in the Women’s Trap and Trap Mixed Team events at the 2025 Lonato Shotgun World Cup. The World Cup Final capped off her 2025 season with a finish just outside the podium in 4th place. Speaking to the significance of being invited to compete in the World Cup Final, Scanlan highlighted, “Making it to the World Cup Final holds immense personal significance. When you’re competing with the best of the best, its validation of your skills and an acknowledgement of the work you’ve put in throughout the year.”
Summarising her 2025 season, Scanlan explained, “2025 has been a year of growth and progress. I’m genuinely happy with my performance during the back half of the season. There were moments when I struggled, but the back half of the year showed that I could overcome those hurdles and regain focus and form.”
Looking forward to the holidays and the year ahead in 2026, Scanlan highlighted, “The time to recharge is limited, but I’m going to make the most of it by spending time with friends and family over the Christmas period. Sometimes, momentarily stepping away is the best way to reset mentally.
“Once the new year begins its straight back to it, starting with Nationals in early January. My focus will be on maintaining a high level of consistency, with the goal of making the 2026 World Championships, as this is the first competition offering quotas for the LA 2028 Olympic Games.”
Following her Olympic bronze medal in 2024, Smith continued her success in the 2025 season, claiming gold in the Women’s Trap event at both the Amir Shotgun Grand Prix and the Buenos Aires World Cup. Smith also took home a gold at the Lima World Cup and a silver at the Buenos Aires World Cup in the Trap Mixed Teams event.
Placing 5th in the Women’s Trap final in Doha concluded an incredible 2025 international season for Smith. Reflecting on the competition at the World Cup Final, Smith highlighted, “The competition is always hotly contested with such a small field of athletes. For me personally I just wanted to round out my year with a solid match.
“The significance of a World Cup Final is bringing all the medallists together for a head-to-head match. It certainly has a different vibe to a World Cup or World Championships event, but it’s a nice way to finish off the season.”
Commenting on her success in 2025, Smith explained, “I’ve had a very good year both domestically and internationally. I always strive to be the best I can be at each competition. My biggest achievement this year was definitely my back-to-back international wins at the Qatar Grand Prix and Buenos Aires World Cup.”
Looking ahead, Smith explained, “I’m looking forward to a small break now leading into the new year. My main focus for 2026 will be the World Championships in Qatar at the end of the year, as this will be the first opportunity to win a quota for LA 2028 Olympic Games.”
Congratulations to these athletes for their achievements throughout the World Cup Final and the 2025 international season.
You can find all the Australian Team Results from the World Cup Final via the Shooting Australia website.
