The 2013 ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup Final in Munich, Germany, continued this afternoon with a thrilling 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men event.
The 1996 Olympic Silver medallist Emil Milev, 45, shooting for USA, won the elimination-style final with 33 hits, leaving Czech Republic's Martin Strnad and Germany's Christian Reitz in second and third place.
Milev moved up in the scoreboard after the first series, eventually landing on top of the World Cup Final podium with a great 5-hit last series, to win his first World Cup Final in career.
“It has been a tough match.” Milev said right after the last shot.
“I have been training with Christian Retiz, and I know he's an excellent shooter. I was looking at his scores on the monitor throughout the match, and when I finally overtook him I felt a little bit more relaxed.”
“My founding memory in shooting is Atlanta 1996, the Olympic Games. But today's final comes right in second. I know Munich's shooting range vert well, but this is a difficult venue, and I was facing strong athletes, today.” Milev added.
“It feels simply great. I would like to dedicate this medal to my family and my friends back home. I know they have been cheering for me!”
A shoot-off decided the Bronze and Silver medals.
The 2008 Olympic Bronze medallist Christian Reitz, 26, shooting on his home turf, tied Czech Republic's 39-year old finalist Martin Strnad, the title defender, at the end of the seventh series. Both the athletes hit 25 targets throughout the final, and a tie-breaker series was needed to decide the final placements.
Reitz shot first, scoring a perfect round of 5 hits out of 5 targets. But Strnad did not give up. The Czech champion hit 5 targets as well, and a second shoot-off had to be conducted.
That was not enough: both finalists scored 3 targets, finishing tied again, and therefore a third shoot-off was set up to decide the medal placements. This time, Strnad beat Reitz 4 to 3 hits, securing the Silver medal with 28 hits, and 5+3+4 hits in the shoot-offs.
Reitz closed the match with the Bronze medal around his neck, at the conclusion of a successful season that saw him winning this year's ISSF World Cup Stage in Fort Benning, GA, USA, and on the podium of the ISSF World Cup Stage in Granada.
Li Yuehong, 24, from the People's Republic of China was the first to leave the match, when the eliminations started after the fourth series. The young Chinese shooter had a great season, this year winning Granada's World Cup Stage, and by placing in second in Changwon and third in Fort Benning. Today, he ended up in a disappointing sixth place, with a score of 11 hits.
He was followed by the reigning Olympic Champion, Cuba's Leuris Pupo, 36, who left the competition after the fifth competitions series, placing in fifth with a score of 16 hits. Today's youngest finalist, the Silver medallist of this year's ISSF World Cup Stage held here in Munich, Zhang Fusheng of China, 20, placed in fourth with a score of 22 hits, after an epic sixth series and 3 shoot-offs to decide who was going to leave the match.
The ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup Final will continue tomorrow with the 10m Air Rifle Women and 10m Air Rifle Men events, taking place at 11.00 and 12.30, respectively.
Follow the finals on www.issf-sports.org