The second final of today’s schedule at the ISSF World Cup stage in Rio de Janeiro (BRA) crowned Russian Federation’s Alexei Klimov as the undisputed Gold medallist of the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men event.
Klimov started the competition with two perfect series of 5 hits, distancing himself form all of his rival since the very beginning. He then led the pack all along the match, scoring a perfect 5 in three more series, also securing the Gold medal and the equalled Final World Record of the event.
“I am happy that I won. I worked hard work in preparation of this event, and here’s the result. This victory is not an accident I was meaning to win and I am not going to be stopped on this,” declared Klimov after the medal ceremony. “On the other side, it’s so hot here at the range! We are all sweating. Anyway, even if range is not ready yet, you can say it’s a real luxurious one. It just needs some adjustments.”
“There are no friends in sport.” He concluded talking about Silver medallist Keith Sanderson, who paused before shooting his last series to congratulate with Klimov. “We are good competitors and I will always help him in case he needs me. It’s not a matter of nation, you could be American, German, Chinese. That’s the motto of sport: whatever happens, all athletes were, are and will be friends and fair competitors.”
USA’s Sanderson, who closed the match with four consecutive 4-points series, pocketed the Silver medal with 31 points.
After surviving two eliminations, Germany’s Oliver Geis, Gold medallist at last year’s World Cup stage in Fort Benning (USA), finished 4th, losing a shoot-off with Quiquampoix to stay in the competition after the sixth series.
Klimov’s teammate, Leonid Ekimov, placed 5th with 17 points, while a second German shooter concluded in 6th place, as Oliver Geis finished with 13 points.
Medal standings after 13 out of 15 events
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RUS |
2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 | UKR |
2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 3 | ESP |
2 | 2 | ||
| 4 | CHN |
1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | GER |
1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 6 | AUS |
1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 6 | BUL |
1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 8 | CRO |
1 | 1 | ||
| 8 | THA |
1 | 1 | ||
| 8 | TPE |
1 | 1 | ||
| 11 | USA |
2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 12 | SRB |
1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 13 | BEL |
1 | 1 | ||
| 13 | KOR |
1 | 1 | ||
| 13 | LIB |
1 | 1 | ||
| 16 | FRA |
1 | 1 | ||
| 16 | GUA |
1 | 1 | ||
| 16 | MGL |
1 | 1 | ||
| 16 | SIN |
1 | 1 | ||
| 16 | SVK |
1 | 1 | ||
| 13 | 13 | 13 | 39 |
The ISSF World Cup stage in Rio de Janeiro will end tomorrow with two matches: the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men final, scheduled at 1:00 PM (UTC-3), and the Skeet Men final, scheduled at 3:30 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.