Doreen Vennekamp, the ISSF women’s Athlete of the Year, got her Olympic year off to the perfect start at the World Cup in Cairo as she added another gold to her collection.
In a women’s 25m pistol final that was full of big guns the 28-year-old German came out on top with a score of 39 – only one away from the then world-record equalling score she registered in earning her first world title in Baku last year.
After she and Greece’s Anna Korakaki, the Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist, had reached the gold-medal round level on 34-34, she produced a perfect final sequence of five hits to take the title by two shots.
Bronze went to the Hungarian shooter who established the world record of 40 in 2019, Veronika Major.
Korakaki, who won the women’s 10m air pistol title on day one of what is the opening World Cup of the season in the Egyptian capital, pushed hard for a golden double, earning a one-shot lead after the first of the elimination rounds following a perfect sequence of five efforts.
Three misses in her next batch of five trimmed her score to 20 as her German rival, with only one miss, reached 21.
But three misses by Vennekamp in the fifth elimination round allowed Korakaki to reduce what had been a three-point lead back to one, and by the next round she had got back level with the world champion.
At that point Major, on 33, settled for bronze on a range where she had won World Cup gold in this discipline a year earlier as well as taking the 10m air rifle gold – a discipline in which she finished sixth on day one.
Reflecting on how she had managed to continue her level of achievement after a season that she had concluded by taking World Cup Final silver, Vennekamp told ISSF TV:
“At the beginning of the year we all have our little struggles. And I don’t think it’s about making mistakes at the moment, but about how often you make mistakes.
“We have so many really good athletes here, and everybody will make some mistakes at the first World Cup but they won’t be often and they won’t be big!
“So you need to close your doors as close as you can and try to focus all the time and accept your little mistakes and don’t do them that often.
“Maybe today I just got a little bit luckier than the others. It was really great start for the year.”
Reflecting on the late misses that allowed her Greek rival to draw back level with her, she admitted: “I was struggling at that moment. That’s what I mean when I talk about little mistakes. Normally I try not to go lower than three hits and I had problems with my first shots today.
“But you have to do one really good series to just flip it off and that was my focus and that’s what I did!”
Korakaki, who also won bronze in the 10m air pistol at the Rio 2016 Olympics, told ISSF TV: “I still get the same adrenaline. Every final is different. It is not the first time I get to win two medals at the same event. I’m really satisfied and proud of the work we have done.
“To be honest I wasn’t so well prepared for the 25m pistol. Because after the World Championships in Baku in August I had some other things to do and I didn’t have the time in winter because my shooting range is outdoors.
“So my training was basically over 10m, but I tried my best. And it worked!
“In the following months we have decided to go to competitions because they are very much needed because we don’t have many competitions in Greece.
“Outside of shooting I am engaged, and we have our dog – I walk my dog twice a day!”
Major commented: “Last year when I was here I won two gold medals and I wanted to do it again,” she told ISSF TV. “Maybe next time. But it’s OK for me. I felt a little bit of pressure, but I know I can do it.
“I was calm and focused, and I won a bronze medal so I am very happy.”
France’s Camille Jedrzejewski, an early leader, finished fourth, one place ahead of Simranpreet Brar of India.
Bulgaria’s Miroslava Mincheva was sixth, Jedrzejewski’s compatriot Heloise Fourre finished seventh and eighth place went to Tien Chia Chen of Chinese Taipei.