Overnight, Australia's Catherine Skinner won the bronze medal in the Women's Trap event at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Lonato, Italy. Against the world's best, and a final filled with Olympic and World Champions, Skinner once again demonstrated her competitive ability.
In the last shotgun World Cup of 2024, and the final large scale international event prior to the start of 2024 Olympic Games, Skinner shot a qualification score of 119 out of 125 targets, tying as second top qualifier with world number 1 Fatima Galves (ESP). Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Zuzana Rehak Stefecekova (SVK) was the top qualifier with a score of 124 out of 125. A minimum score of 116 was required for the Trap Women to secure a place in the 6-person final.
With the sun finally shining over Trap Concaverde, Skinner and Galvez were sitting in equal 2nd place after the 6th place elimination in the final at 25 targets, and then for the 15 targets that followed, the duo were neck and neck to determine the silver and bronze medals. Rehak Stefecekova was unstoppable as she dominated the final to add a 10th World Cup gold medal to her resume.
Of Catherine's bronze medal win, Shooting Australia's Chief Executive Officer, Adam Sachs, says, "We congratulate Catherine on her bronze medal win at the World Cup in Lonato. Catherine will be so pleased to be back on the podium following her previous individual World Cup bronze medal in Almaty in 2023."
"It was also great to see James Willett make the Men's Trap final, on the back of his gold medal win at the May World Cup in Baku."
"Whilst athlete selection to the 2024 Australian Olympic Team has not yet been confirmed, competitions of this magnitude comprise athletes that are likely to be competitors in Chateauroux in July and are important opportunities in terms of final preparations of teams for the Olympic Games."
"With the performances and medals achieved this year, it is a strong indication that the Australian Team will be a force to be reckoned with at the Olympic Games."
Skeet competition in Lonato will commence on Saturday with Australia's Aislin Jones and Joshua Bell in their final stages of preparation leading into their events.
The Australian Olympic Committee is planning to announce the Australian Olympic Shooting Team on Thursday 27 June.
