Day 3 of the Shooting Competition coming up today from the National Shooting Centre in Chateauroux, France…
MEN’S TRAP (SHOTGUN) QUALIFICATION DAY 1
AUSTRALIAN ATHLETES COMPETING:
MITCHELL ILES AND JAMES WILLETT
Competition commences at 9:30am Local (CEST) / 5:00PM AEST!
The Final will be held on 30 July for the top 6 qualifiers.
SEE THE START LIST AND FOLLOW RESULTS
LEARN A BIT ABOUT THE MEN’S TRAP EVENT
Athletes use 12-gauge shotguns to shoot clay targets ejected at varying angles and heights from 15 trap machines. They call upon the target by making a sound, usually yelling out “pull”. Competitors rotate through 5 stations, shooting 125 targets in the qualification round.
The final is up to an additional 50 targets in the final. The final six finalists undergo an elimination process after shooting the first 25 targets, continuing every 5 shots until only two competitors remain vying for the gold medal.
READ MORE ABOUT AUSTRALIAN SHOOTING HISTORY HERE
Dane Sampson and Jack Rossiter hit the range on Sunday for their first event of the Paris 2024 Olympic Shooting program.
Competing in the 10m Air Rifle Men’s event on day 2 of competition at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre, Sampson and Rossiter had 75 minutes during qualification to fire 60 shots down the 10m range, their ultimate aim; the .5mm centre point of the 80mm target.
Three-time Olympian Rossiter shot a qualification score of 628.5, finishing in 16th place, making Australian Olympic Team history as the highest ranked competitor in the 10m Air Rifle Men’s event.
Sampson, who is competing at his fourth consecutive Olympic Games, shot a qualification score of 626.9, and finished in 30th place. Of his best performance in this event, Sampson reflected post competition, “The qualification score is the best I have shot at an Olympic Games in the 10m Air Rifle event. My self-management during the competition was really good and I could definitely feel the years of experience paying off and allowing me to understand what is important in the present moment.”
With competition not yet over for Sampson, he said, “My previous experience also allowed me to enjoy the competition the right way and benefit me going into my second event.”
The top qualification score in the 10m Air Rifle Men’s event was from World Record Holder Lihao Sheng from China who shot a score of 631.7. The final will be contested today, with 629.8 being the cut off score to make the 8 man final.
Rossiter and Sampson will now enter the final stages of preparations where they will contest the 50m Rifle 3 Positions in their second and final competition of this Games on 31st July.
