The 2015 ISSF Shooter of the Year Snejana Pejcic of Croatia (33) claimed her third world cup gold medal of the season, at today’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women event, during the ISSF World Cup in Baku, bringing her total world cup medals tally up to 16.
Pejcic did not shoot at her best during the qualification, scoring 582 points to finish in 8th place, just enough to advance to the final. But during the medal match, she closed the kneeling series (153.3 points) and the prone series (309.4 pts) in second place behind People’s Republic of China’s Chen Dongqi (27). The standing series were the turning point of her final: Pejcic zeroed in and scored 459.7 points, to finish atop of the podium.
In the meantime, Chen slid down in fourth place, where she closed the match with 434.6 points. Austria’s second-time finalist Franziska Peer (29) and the second Chinese finalist Zhao Huixin (27) took advantage of her defiance in the standing series, climbing up in second and third place, with 454.4 and 444.4 points, respectively.
The third Chinese finalist, Shi Mengyao (18), competing for the first time in this event, took the 5th place with 424.2 points, bettering the winner of the first world cup stage of the season, Germany’s Jolyn Beer (22), who finished in 6th with 411.7 points.
Republic of Korea’s first-time finalist Lee Kyerim (25) and the Russian Federation’s Yulia Karimova (22) placed in 7th and 8th places, with 401.0 and 395.1 points, respectively.
Pejcic, a 2008 Olympic air rifle Bronze medallist, has been making it to all world cup podiums this year, winning the previous stages in Munich and Rio de Janeiro, and securing silver at the first world cup of the season in Bangkok.
“When I think about it I go… wow!” Says the Croatian shooter. Ranked first in the world, she has had a marvellous 2015 season, winning two gold and two silver, as well as a world cup final bronze, which led her to be elected “ISSF 2015 Shooter of the Year”. But she bettered her own records, this year.
“I think this is my best season ever. – She continued, - last year it has been amazing, but this 2016 is even better. I have changed my rifle since last year, and it works really well. But let’s stop here, we will comment it after the Games.”
“With 39 days to go to the Olympics, I am trying not to freak out. I am taking a rest after this match because I need it, the season has been really long. I need a small break before the last trainings ahead of Rio.”