A year on from missing the podium at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Spain's Mar Molne now stands on top of the world, being crowned the women's trap champion at the 2025 ISSF World Championship Shotgun at the Malakasa Shooting Range, near Greece, Athens.
Consistency brought her to the gold medal as she went in the final 10 shots with qualification rival Silvana Stanco of Italy who took the silver ahead of Poland's Sandra Bernal, who stood on the podium in this competition for the first time in her career.
The Final
Mar Molne and Silvana Stanco were separated in a shoot-off for the first and second bibs, showing they were well-matched coming into the final. For Molne, it was a chance at redemption. Her and compatriot and fellow finalist Fatima Galvez had made the Olympic final in Chateauroux last summer with Stanco and after a promising first 25 shots where she sat in second place, three errors in her next five sunk her into a battle for survival and ultimately, saw her finish fourth. Stanco would beat the Spanish athletes to the podium, finishing second.
Galvez, an Olympic champion, was joined by another Olympic finalist Australian Laetisha Scanlan, who missed Paris 2024, but had a fantastic season coming into Greece. Sandra Bernal from Poland and Portugal's Ines de Barros have came close themselves to making world and Olympic finals, and were set for their first appearances.
Consistency brought her to the gold medal as she went in the final 10 shots with qualification rival Silvana Stanco of Italy who took the silver ahead of Poland's Sandra Bernal, who stood on the podium in this competition for the first time in her career.
The Final
Mar Molne and Silvana Stanco were separated in a shoot-off for the first and second bibs, showing they were well-matched coming into the final. For Molne, it was a chance at redemption. Her and compatriot and fellow finalist Fatima Galvez had made the Olympic final in Chateauroux last summer with Stanco and after a promising first 25 shots where she sat in second place, three errors in her next five sunk her into a battle for survival and ultimately, saw her finish fourth. Stanco would beat the Spanish athletes to the podium, finishing second.
Galvez, an Olympic champion, was joined by another Olympic finalist Australian Laetisha Scanlan, who missed Paris 2024, but had a fantastic season coming into Greece. Sandra Bernal from Poland and Portugal's Ines de Barros have came close themselves to making world and Olympic finals, and were set for their first appearances.
Silvana Stanco pushed Mar Molne close in her quest for her first world title Molne and Stanco set the pace
Sometimes qualification form means nothing when it comes to the medal fight, but Molne and Stanco set the early pace with 14 from 15 targets. Bernal and Galvez followed on 13, while Scanlan and De Barros struggled to keep touch from the off. They sat with totals of 10 and 11 and looked to be in the elimination tussle.
The Spaniard was more accurate at the front, missing one of her next 10, bridging a gap of one to Stanco at the top. Bernal was excellent too, drawing level with the Italian after scoring all of her next 10. Meanwhile Galvez fell back into the clutches of the back two, with three more misses to Scanlan's one. De Barros, who had the superior bib number, still had the advantage over the Australian into the final five targets, but she would miss her next three to finish in sixth.
Scanlan had managed to rid herself of those early errors, but at this point needed to be perfect to stand a chance. Another miss gave Galvez breathing room and the Australian finished fifth. By the point that the competition was whittled down to four, Galvez was two behind Bernal with a lower bib. It was a difficult task and ultimately, Galvez would miss out on this occasion in fourth.
Sometimes qualification form means nothing when it comes to the medal fight, but Molne and Stanco set the early pace with 14 from 15 targets. Bernal and Galvez followed on 13, while Scanlan and De Barros struggled to keep touch from the off. They sat with totals of 10 and 11 and looked to be in the elimination tussle.
The Spaniard was more accurate at the front, missing one of her next 10, bridging a gap of one to Stanco at the top. Bernal was excellent too, drawing level with the Italian after scoring all of her next 10. Meanwhile Galvez fell back into the clutches of the back two, with three more misses to Scanlan's one. De Barros, who had the superior bib number, still had the advantage over the Australian into the final five targets, but she would miss her next three to finish in sixth.
Scanlan had managed to rid herself of those early errors, but at this point needed to be perfect to stand a chance. Another miss gave Galvez breathing room and the Australian finished fifth. By the point that the competition was whittled down to four, Galvez was two behind Bernal with a lower bib. It was a difficult task and ultimately, Galvez would miss out on this occasion in fourth.
Mar Molne was overcome with emotion following her victoryBelated birthday present for Molne, wrapped in gold
Reaching your mid-twenties is a stage in your life where you begin to find comfort and assurance in yourself. Yesterday, Mar Molne would have heard rings of "Cumpleaños Feliz" from her team and loved ones as she marked her 24th birthday.
And the second half of the women's trap final showed it was an assured performance from her. Her next three series were perfect, while Stanco now fell two shots behind with 10 to go. By this point, the Italian had shaken off the brief challenge from Bernal, who missed five in that period of 15 targets to Stanco's one.
A sketchy moment for Molne saw her miss two of those first five, meaning Stanco could draw level if she kept a clean card. Unfortunately for her, she would miss three herself, making the gap now three targets with five to go. Molne was back to the form that brought her to the top of the standings, clearing all five at the end, with the Italian missing one more. Molne became the world champion for the first time, beating Stanco with a score of 46 to 42 in her first final.
Stanco was unable to take her first world title, but would improve on her previous best of bronze from seven years ago in Changwon. In Bernal's first world final, she improved on her previous best World Championship result by 40 positions with a superb bronze.
Following her victory, Mar Molne said: "I couldn't imagine this so far at such a young age, but it was so emotional and I am so happy for the win. It was my best birthday present, it couldn't be better.
"I was just aiming with the shotgun and I was shaking all over, but when I saw the result, it was incredible."
Reaching your mid-twenties is a stage in your life where you begin to find comfort and assurance in yourself. Yesterday, Mar Molne would have heard rings of "Cumpleaños Feliz" from her team and loved ones as she marked her 24th birthday.
And the second half of the women's trap final showed it was an assured performance from her. Her next three series were perfect, while Stanco now fell two shots behind with 10 to go. By this point, the Italian had shaken off the brief challenge from Bernal, who missed five in that period of 15 targets to Stanco's one.
A sketchy moment for Molne saw her miss two of those first five, meaning Stanco could draw level if she kept a clean card. Unfortunately for her, she would miss three herself, making the gap now three targets with five to go. Molne was back to the form that brought her to the top of the standings, clearing all five at the end, with the Italian missing one more. Molne became the world champion for the first time, beating Stanco with a score of 46 to 42 in her first final.
Stanco was unable to take her first world title, but would improve on her previous best of bronze from seven years ago in Changwon. In Bernal's first world final, she improved on her previous best World Championship result by 40 positions with a superb bronze.
Following her victory, Mar Molne said: "I couldn't imagine this so far at such a young age, but it was so emotional and I am so happy for the win. It was my best birthday present, it couldn't be better.
"I was just aiming with the shotgun and I was shaking all over, but when I saw the result, it was incredible."