10M AIR RIFLE MIXED TEAM
China won this event when mixed team events made their debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games thanks to Yang Qian and Yang Haoran, neither of whom are on the team for Paris 2024.
But the Chinese challenge for another gold could hardly be stronger given the recent record of the two teenagers currently charged with this task.
Huang Yuting, 17, and 19-year-old Sheng Lihao travel to the Games as world champions – thanks to their convincing 16-2 win over Iran’s Amir Mohammad Nekounam and Shermineh Chehel Amirani in Baku last year – and they will be favourites to earn the first gold medal of the Paris 2024 on July 27 in what will be the first of 15 shooting sport finals.
Individually the pair have had outstanding seasons. Huang beat 22-year-old world champion Han Jiayu in the national trials and won the concluding World Cup in Munich, where Han, who will contest the individual event, earned bronze.
Sheng, who became the youngest shooting sport medallist in Olympic history at the Tokyo 2020 Games thanks to his 10m air rifle silver aged 16 years 233 days, has had a spectacular year.
He won the last two ISSF World Cups of the season, at Baku and Munich, and regaining the world record in the latter event with a score of 254.5.
Competing in Munich, the pair became world junior record holders thanks to their score of 635.1 in qualifying.
But the two youngsters will face serious challenges in Paris – not least from the Norwegian pair whom they beat in the Munich final, Jeanette Hegg Duestad and Jon-Hermann Hegg.
The latter earned World Cup gold at the Final Olympic qualifier in Rio, where they beat a French duo who will also be major medal contenders on their home soil, Oceanne Muller and Lucas Kryzs.
The United States will also be medal contenders given their strong individual 10m air rifle presence in the men’s and women’s individual events, where they will field Rylan Kissell, Ivan Roe, Sagan Maddalena and Mary Tucker, who won silver at the Tokyo 2020 Games with Lucas Kozeniesky.
Britain’s former world record holder Seonaid McIntosh showed superb form as she and Dean Bale beat the Indian pairing of Sonam Maskar and Arjun Babuta to win the Cairo World Cup title and could make a similar impact with her team-mate in Paris, Michael Bargeron.
Another big challenge for gold will come from Germany.
Janssen, world No.1 in the 10m air rifle and world No.2 in the 25m pistol, combined with Maximilian Dallinger to win at the Granada World Cup but she will team up in Paris with the athlete who partnered her to victory at the European Championships, Maximilian Ulbrich.
Asia Olympic Qualification/Champs Rifle/Pistol – Jakarta Jan
China - Shen Yufan, Zhu Mingshuai
ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun Cairo Jan-Feb
Great Britain - Seonaid Mcintosh and Dean Bale
ISSF World Cup 10m Rifle/Pistol Granada Feb
Germany - Anna Janssen, Maximilian Dallinger
European Championships 10m Rifle/Pistol Gyor Feb-March
Germany - Anna Janssen, Maximilian Ulbrich
Olympic Qualification CAT XIV Rifle/Pistol Buenos Aires March-April
USA 2 - Alison Weisz and Rylan Kissell bt USA 1 – Sagen Maddalena, Ivan Roe
ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship Rifle/Pistol Rio de Janeiro April
Norway – Jeanette Hegg Duestad, Jon-Hermann Hegg beat France, Oceane Muller and Lucas Kryzs
ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun Baku May
China - Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao bt Han Jiayu and Du Linshu (China)
ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol Munich May-June
China – Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao beat Norway, Jeanette Duestad and Jon-Hermann Hegg