Yulia Karimova of the Russian Federation collected an odds-defying victory at today’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women event, during an action-packed day-7 at the 52nd ISSF World Championship in Changwon, Republic of Korea.
The 24-year old athlete - ranked 40th in the world and competing in her first world championship - finished atop of the podium with 461.1 points, gaining the title as well as an Olympic quota place for Tokyo 2020.
With excellent scores in the kneeling and in the prone series, she beat the 2009 European junior champion - Germany’s 27-year old Isabella Straub - who closed the match in second with 459.5 points. The young winner also outscored the world’s #1 Snjezana Pejcic of Croatia - arriving here in Changwon after a world cup victory in Fort Benning this year - who closed today’s match in third with 446.4 points,.
All three medalists collected an Olympic Quota place for their countries. Seonaid Mcintosh of Great Britain, who had won the non-Olympic 50m Rifle Prone Women event here in Changwon just three days ago, begged the fourth Olympic quota up for grabs at today’s competition, as she placed in fourth with 435.0 points.
She finished ahead of Nina Christensen of Switzerland (5th with 414.3 points), Wang Xiangyan of the People’s Republic of China (6th with 414.3 points), Norway’s Jenny Stene (7th with 404.7 points), and Franziska Peer of Austria, 8th with 400.9 points.