Shotgun World Cup Finals – Champions in the spotlight

Giovanni “Johnny” Pellielo walks into this year’s final as the title defender (he won last year’s final in Minsk), and runs for his eight World Cup Final title. Seven Gold, four Silver and one Bronze medals, for a total of twelve World Cup Finals medals, are laying in his medal showcase. Nobody has been winning as much as the 39-year old Italian shooter within the frame of the ISSF World Cup Final, since the competition was inaugurated in 1989. This year, Pellielo won a World Cup Stage in Minsk and led the European Championship in Osijek, but he did not shoot at his best at the World Championship of Maribor, last August. Trying to score his eighth World Cup Final Gold medal on the Olympic ranges of Beijing, he will meet some of the best Trap shooters of the World. The recently awarded World Champion Marian Kovacocy, 25-year old, from Slovakia, is one of the youngest and strongest. Coming from an odds-defying victory at the World Championship, he could try to attempt Pellielo’s leadership in Beijing.

Running for his first World Cup Final title, the 2008 Olympic Champion David Kostelecky of Czech Republic could turn the match in his favour. After finishing in second at the World Cup in San Marino, and fourth at the World Championship in Maribor, the Czech champion is looking for the highlight of his season, and he will try to find his moment at the same Olympic venue of Beijing where he triumphed one year ago.

Twelve of the best trap shooters of the World qualified for this year’s World Cup Final, and it would be almost impossible to spot out a favourite. American, Turkish, Indian, Kuwaiti and Cypriot shooters have a chance to finish in the spotlights, not to mention the Australian Champion Diamond, second behind Pellielo in the “top-3” ranking of the all-time World Cup Final winners. The Game is open, and only the clays will decide who’s the champion.

Skeet Men – Hancock is back to win

He has won everything but the ISSF World Cup Final. The American phenomenon Vincent Hancock is back, and he is ready to rise up the only cup missing from his trophy showcase. The 20-year old Skeet shooter came back atop of an ISSF podium at the last World Championship in Maribor, exactly one year after his victorious Olympic final in Beijing. “I changed back to the shotgun I had won the Olympics with, and I won the World Championship. I feel great now!” he said last August. After winning the 2008 Games, two World Championships, four World Cup Stages and two Pan-American Games within four years, Hancock is now aiming at the World Cup Final, which will take place at “his” Olympic Shooting Range of Beijing. The three medallists of the last Olympics will meet again at the CTF range of the Chinese capital. Hancock will face Norway’s Tore Brovold, Olympic Silver medallist, and France’s Anthony Terras, Olympic Bronze, both qualified for the Final after an intense World Cup Season. Young athletes and expert shooters will join the fight for the 2009 title. Ennio Falco, 44-year old (the shooter who ranks first in the World Cup Final “all-time” medal standings) leads a group of strong contenders, including the 2007 World Champion Georgios Achilleos of Cyprus, 29, the 2004 Olympic Silver Marko Kemppainen of Finland, 33, the World Cup Final multi-medallist Jan Sychra of Czech Republic, 40, and the Kuwaiti champion Zaid Almutairi, 27.

Double Trap Men – D’Aniello wants a poker

Starting the 2009 with a Gold medal won at the ISSF World Cup in Cairo, Italy’s Francesco D’Aniello has been a protagonist of this shooting season. Next to his excellent results in ISSF World Cups, the 44-year old athlete won this year’s European Championship held in Osijek, and claimed the Double Trap World Championship title in Maribor, last August. Thanks to his prime results, the Italian shooter has qualified for this year’s ISSF World Cup Final in Beijing. Coming back to the shooting range that gave him an Olympic Silver in 2008, he will have a chance to win his fourth Gold medal of the year, and to close the season with a golden poker. The Olympic Champion of Beijing, Walton Glen Eller of the USA, did not qualify for the Final, but D’Aniello will meet a group of skilled competitors. The two American teammates Jeffrey Holguin and Joshua Richmond (“they are great shooters” D’Aniello said at the World Championship), India’s hope Ronjan Sodhi, the Olympic multi-medallist Mark Russell of Australia and the title defender Hakan Dahlby of Sweden are ready for the challenge. Next to them, the Chinese team, with the home court advantage playing on its side, qualified three shooters. The Olympic Bronze medallist Hu Binyuan, 32, this year’s World Championship Bronze Wang Nan, 31, and their younger teammate Mo Junjie (winner of a World Cup Stage in San Marino, this year), 21, will battle on their home range aiming at the most prestigious ISSF World Cup Gold medal of the year.

Skeet Women – Like at the Games

This year’s Skeet Women World Cup Final mirrors the last Olympic final. The World Cup Final title defender, Cyprus Andri Eleftheriou, will face five out of the six finalists of the 2008 Olympic Games. The Olympic Champion Chiara Cainero of Italy, the Olympic Silver medallist Kimberly Rhode of the USA, and Beijing’s Bronze Christine Brinker-Wenzel, qualified for this year’s final together with the 2008 Olympic fifth and sixth Sutyia Jewchaloemmit of Thailand and Wei Ning of China. They all have special motivations to aim at the Gold: Wei Ning is the women who has won the highest number of World Cup Finals in the ISSF history, Brinker has won the last World Championship held in Maribor in August, and Cainero is willing to confirm the Olympic Gold she won here in Beijing. “I am looking forward to compete again at the Olympic Shooting Range of Beijing – Cainero said after qualifying for the Final at the World Cup in San Marino – It will be great to be back there where I won the Games!”

The Skeet Women Final is announced to be tough. Next to the title defender and the Olympic finalists, expert shooters as the two-time World Cup Final winner Demina of Russia and the Slovakian champion Danka Bartekova are capable of winning the last match of the year.

Four shooters, Slovakia’s Zemkova, Italy’s Fattorini, USA’s Connor and Great Britain’s Le Grelle, qualified for the first time to compete in a World Cup Final, and they might turn the tables of the match.

Trap Women – The youngest champion

Italy’s Jessica Rossi is probably one of the youngest top-shooters of the World. At the age of 17, she is the current number one in the Trap Women World Ranking. During the 2009 season, she has finished twice on a World Cup podium in Cairo and Minsk, she has led the European Championship and then closed the circle by becoming the Trap Women World Champion in Maribor. She will be the youngest competitor at the World Cup Final in Minsk, but she is the “women to beat”. The title defender, the Russian shooter Irina Laricheva, who has won the World Cup Stage of Munich and has placed in second at this year’s World Championships, presents herself as one of the strongest title contenders. Rossi and Laricheva will meet the 2008 Olympic Champion Satu Makela-Nummela of Finland, the 2004 Olympic Champion Daina Gudzineviciute (who came back on an ISSF podium this year after missing for a few seasons), the two times World Cup Final medallists Liu Yingzhi of China and the Slovakian shooter Zuzana Stefecekova, one of the most titled Trap shooters participating in this World Cup Finals.

1988-2008 Top-3 Multi-medallists by event (Shotgun Events)