2014 ISSF Junior World Champion in the 10m Air Rifle Men event, Russian Federation’s Vladimir Maslennikov, finally collected his first international Gold medal as a senior. Not only, he did it in Rio de Janeiro (BRA), in the same shooting range that will host the Olympic Shooting events in less than four months.
Despite starting with a poor first series, after which he ranked in 7th position, Maslennikov shot consistently for the whole match, hitting the 10th-ring for fourteen consecutive times. He then sealed the 1st place with his second-to-last shot, when he responded to a near-perfect 10.8, scored by Silver medallist Cao Yifei of China, with a perfect 10.9 that won the applauses of the entire finals hall.
Cao, who was in the lead for most of the final, finished with 206.0 final points. 1.0 point away from Maslennikov’s 207.0.
“That 10.9 shot was crucial. If I hadn’t matched my rival’s great shot I would be in trouble,” Said Maslennikov after the medal ceremony. “I’m glad for me and for Sergey. He’s not only my teammate, he’s also my friend, and we’ll go to the Olympics together.”
“I’m very happy for me and of course I’m happy for Vladimir, he’s the hero of the day!” Declared Kaminskiy, who finished 3rd with 184.5 points. after the medal ceremony.
Germany’s Julian Justus finished in 4th place, followed by 2014 Youth Olympic Gold medallist Yang Haoran of the People’s Republic of China, 5th with 141.4, and by Bulgaria’s Anton Rizov, participating here in his third final phase, who placed 6th with 121.2 points.
Italian shooter Niccolò Campriani, London 2012 Silver medallist in this event, slipped down the standings after hitting the 10th-ring with his first six shots, eventually concluding 7th with the score 102.0.
Two-time Olympic medallist Zhu Qinan, the third Chinese athlete who qualified for the final, concluded 8th with 80.0 points.
The ISSF World Cup stage in Rio de Janeiro will continue tomorrow with the 50m Pistol Men final, scheduled at 11:30 AM (UTC-3), followed by the Double Trap Men final at 3:45 PM.
News and updates will be available on the ISSF official website and on its social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Weibo. While highlights of all the finals will be available on YouTube and Youku.
Medal standings after 6 out of 15 events
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ESP |
2 | 2 | ||
| 2 | RUS |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | CHN |
1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 4 | TPE |
1 | 1 | ||
| 4 | UKR |
1 | 1 | ||
| 6 | BEL |
1 | 1 | ||
| 6 | BUL |
1 | 1 | ||
| 6 | LIB |
1 | 1 | ||
| 6 | SRB |
1 | 1 | ||
| 10 | GER |
2 | 2 | ||
| 11 | GUA |
1 | 1 | ||
| 11 | SIN |
1 | 1 | ||
| 11 | SVK |
1 | 1 | ||
| 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
The ISSF World Cup stage in Rio de Janeiro will continue tomorrow with the 50m Pistol Men final, scheduled at 11:30 AM (UTC-3), followed by the Double Trap Men final at 3:45 PM.
News and updates will be available on the ISSF official website and on its social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Weibo. While highlights of all the finals will be available on YouTube and Youku.