China and the Republic of Korea will each have two competitors in tomorrow’s 10m air pistol women final after a qualification event in which Georgia’s 55-year-old Nino Salukvadze, (pictured, X), who finished 38th, became the only athlete to compete in 10 consecutive Olympics.
Salukvadze, who will also compete in the 25m pistol, earned gold and silver representing the Soviet Union at her first Olympics in Seoul 36 years ago. She had arrived in Chateauroux in the early hours after being one of the Georgian flagbearers in the River Seine Opening Ceremony.
"(I got back) at 3am, but slept in the bus. I had no problem with sleep and felt very well this day. No problem. That was third time I was flagbearer.”
With her appearance in Paris 2024 competition Salukvadze matched the record for Games appearances held by Canada’s equestrian athlete Ian Millar.
But uniquely Salukvadze’s Olympic appearances are consecutive as Millar, who made his first Games appearance at Munich in 1972 and his last at London in 2012, was unable to compete in the 1980 Moscow Games .
“Only one man from Canada, and now it’s gender equality," Salukvadze said. "After my first Olympic Games, I not think about 10 Olympic Games. If I took two gold medals in Seoul – I took home gold and silver – maybe I not continue, God knows. I’m proud.”
The qualification at Chateauroux was won by Hungary’s Veronika Major, the former 25m pistol world record holder, who totalled 582, with the Republic of Korea’s Oh Ye Jin, who scored the same amount, taking second place through the tie-break of inner-10 scores, which were 22-20 in Major’s favour.
Oh’s compatriot Kim Yeji, the 25m pistol world record holder, also made the cut in fifth place after scoring 578, the same as the athlete one place above her, Vietnam’s Trinh Thu Vinh.
China’s world champion Jiang Ranxin and Li Xue, respective silver and bronze medallists at the last World Cup of the season in Munich, also qualified in eighth and sixth place respectively.
India’s 22-year-old Manu Bhaker, also picked for the 25m pistol, claimed third place with 580 points, although her 20-year-old compatriot Rhythm Sangwan, world-ranked No.3 in this event, finished 15th.
The other place went to Turkey’s Sevval Tarhan.
Serbia’s 37-year-old world No. 1 Zorana Arunovic finished two places away from the qualifying positions, just behind Elmira Karapetyan of Armenia.
Meanwhile Anna Korakaki of Greece, who won bronze in this event at the Rio 2016 as well as 25m pistol gold, and finished sixth in both events at the Tokyo 2020 Games, failed to finish, pulling out shortly after the start of the fourth series of shots.
While China took the first gold of the Paris 2024 Olympics in this morning’s 10m air rifle mixed team event their aspirations on the 10m air pistol men took a dive as their world champion, Zhang Bowen, failed to earn one of the eight places in tomorrow’s final.
Zhang finished 19th with a total of 573 points on a day when top place went to Serbia’s Olympic and world silver medallist Damir Mikec, who scored 584.
But China’s banner will be carried into the final by 24-year-old Xie Yu, winner at this season’s Baku World Cup, who scored 579 to finish sixth.
Italy’s 23-year-old Federico Maldini, who won the Olympic qualifier in Rio, finished second on 581, one clear of Germany’s 37-year-old Christian Reitz, the Rio 2016 25m rapid fire pistol gold medallist, and Lee Wonho of Republic of Korea.
Italy and Germany will each have two men in the final as Paolo Monna finished fifth on 579 and world No.1 Robin Walter, the 2023 World Cup Final winner, took eighth place on 577, one behind Mongolia’s 35-year-old Davaakhuu Enkhtaivan, who scored 578.
India’s Sarabjot Singh and Ismail Keles of Turkey just missed out on the final after matching Walter’s score but finishing respectively ninth and tenth on tiebreaks.
Others who failed to progress included Bulgaria’s world bronze medallist Kiril Kirov of Bulgaria who placed 16th, and Kazakhstan’s Asian champion Nikita Chiryukin, who finished 15th.
Edilio Francisco Centeno Nieves of the Refugee Olympic Team finished 30th out of a field of 33.