Dane makes it seven heaven in 3 Positions Rifle event

Tokyo Olympic team member, Dane Sampson, continued to dominate the Open 50m Rifle 3 Positions event when capturing the gold medal at the Wingfield Grand Prix in Adelaide today.

Competing in heavy rain, Sampson won his seventh Open 50m Rifle 3 Positions title of the year scoring 456.7 points to outclass Tokyo Games team-mate Jack Rossiter (445.1 points) by 11.6 points with Victorian Michael Davis (433.1 points) placed third.

Sampson and Rossiter have engaged in a close battle all year and another close final was expected after only one point separated the pair following the morning qualifying round.

However, in the final, Sampson took control during the opening kneeling rounds to lead Rossiter by 5.6 points, and he maintained a healthy 5.3 point margin after the prone series of shots.

Sampson’s victory sees him extend his lead on the Open 50m Rifle 3 Positions Performance Series leaderboard.

With Sampson banking another 25 points with his victory, the Queenslander has now tallied 215 points to lead Rossiter (180 points) by 35 points.

Sampson will be looking to maintain his lead in the Open 10m Air Rifle Performance Series leaderboard when the event is held tomorrow.

The Wingfield Grand Prix is the last event for Australia’s Olympic Rifle athletes before entering a 14-day Staging Camp in Brisbane on July 4 before heading off to the Tokyo Olympics.

Shooting Australia