STANCO'S TRAP WOMEN VICTORY GOOD ENOUGH TO MAKE TWO COUNTRIES HAPPY
Today's youngest finalist, Silvana Stanco, 20, won the Trap Women event. She played a great match, beating Australia's 23-year old Skinner (who had won a Silver medal in Al Ain a few weeks ago). Stanco celebrated her first medal twice: with the Italians and with the Swiss team.
She wasn't even 10-year old, and she was already following her father at the shooting range. Silvana Stanco, 20, from Italy, started shooting Trap when she was really young. At the beginning, it was just a game. But today, after winning her first ISSF Wolrd Cup medal, she's not “playing” anymore.
“I am getting more and more involved in the sport. I start thinking that this could be a profession!” the 20-year student said in Nicosia, Cyprus, today, wearing the Trap Women Gold medal.
Stanco won after defeating Australia's Catherine Skinner (23) 14 to 9 hits at the Gold medal match, after qualifying with 70 hits and leading the semi-finals with 13 hits.
The success came at the second try: Stanco had participated in her first ISSF World Cup ever last March, in Acapulco, where she had pocketed a Bronze medal stepping on the podium next to her titled teammate Jessica Rossi, the reigning Olympic Champion.
Then, Nicosia. And the perfect conditions to win her first Gold. “The weather was perfect today – she said – yesterday it was so windy, and I shot a terrible last round. But during today's match everything run smoothly. I tried to take it easy, to relax, to enjoy the match. The outcome was unexpected... I am so happy!”
Stanco's victory made two countries happy. First she celebrated with the Italians, then with the Swiss team. “I was born and grown up in Zurich, Switzerland. But my father is Italian, so I have an Italian passport. That's why I am competing for Italy. But I grow up with the Swiss team. We know each other since the beginning, when I was following my father at the range.”
Luciano Facchini, the team official of Switzerland, has no regrets. “Silvana is a great girl. She's been training so hard, that I am just happy that she finally made it. She's shooting for Italy, I know. It would be nice to have her competing for our team, but it's up to her.”
So, what's up in Stanco's future? “I still don't know. I am studying at the University. I am busy all week: lessons from Monday until Friday, and then the weekends on the range. I am not making plans right now. I want to take it seriously, but I still have time to find my way.” And, after today's final, that way is probably towards Rio 2016.
Today's Bronze medal went to Germany's Sonja Scheibl (33), who secured a spot on the podium by outdoing London's Olympic Silver medallist Zuzana Stefecekova of Slovakia (29) in a shoot-off. Scheibl first passed through the qualifications with 70 hits, than gained a spot in the Bronze medal match by shooting-off Russia's Liudmilla Pshenichnikova 10 to 9 after the semi-final. At the Bronze medal match, the German and the Slovakian athletes tied with 11 hits, and it was again a shoot-off (2 to 1 hits for Scheibl) to decide the duel.
The 2012 Olympic Champion, Stanco's teammate Jessica Rossi, ended up in sixth place with 9 hits in the semi-final, after qualifying with 73 hits.
The third leg of this year's ISSF Shotgun World Cup Series will continue tomorrow with the Trap Men final, scheduled at 5 PM local time. Follow the match on www.issf-sports.org
Posted by Thom Erik Syrdahl
Source ISSF Website: http://www.issf-sports.org/news.ashx?newsid=1888
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