K. McGinty - USAShooting
Experience Propels the Ekimov, Almeida, and Hembre to the Podium
Russia’s Leonid Ekimov was fourth in the 2008 Olympic Games in Rapid Fire Pistol and fifth in 10m Air Pistol. This multi-talented athlete also has a few handfuls of lustrous gold, silver, and bronze medals from the past six years of World Cup competition. In this year’s World Shooting Championships, Ekimov once again proved his versatility. He shot for 589 points in the 25m Center Fire Pistol event. Though a non-Olympic, Ekimov proved that hitting tens is a talent. Dropping only six points in his rapid fire stage, Ekimov scored 589 points. The silver medalist was Julio Almeida of Brazil. This father of two also competed in the 2008 Olympic Games in Rapid Fire Pistol, 10m Air Pistol Men, and 50m Free Pistol Men. Almeida scored 586 points in the Center Fire Pistol event. Finally, Norway’s Paal Hembre, an Information Technology Consultant, fired 585 total points for the bronze medal. Hembre has been a practicing shooter since 1978 and competes across the pistol discipline in five different events.