Willett finishes fourth at San Marino

NSWIS shooter James Willett has finished fourth at the San Marino’s Double Trap final of the 3rd ISSF Shotgun World Cup stage.

 

Willett is currently ranked first in the world in this event and had finished on the podium at the beginning of the season in Nicosia.

 

There were rain-affected conditions in San Marino, however Willett was rue to use this as an excuse.

 

Given his premium ranking in the event and his competitive nature, the 20 year old will be disappointed with his results.

 

Two-time World Champion Joshua Richmond of the United States of America (30) secured the brightest medal at the end of a thrilling Gold medal match, where he met and beat Germany’s top-ranked Double Trap shooter Andreas Loew (34) by 29 to 28 hits.

 

Richmond had scored 28 targets in the semi-final, beating China’s Pan Qiang in a shoot-off to join Loew in Gold medal match. The German athlete had shot a perfect semi-final, hitting 30 out of 30 targets, to qualify.

 

“It was another great day in San Marino for me, I shot here in 2009 and got a Bronze medal. I came here trying to stay consistent throughout the day. The weather conditions affected the targets, and the light was changing back and forth, but I stayed focused, hitting one target after the other until the end,” said Richmond.

 

“When I got to the last pair I knew I had a small cushion, I tried to enjoy the moment and I knew I was going to hit one of the two… it was still a win!” Added the US shooter, who missed just one target in the medal match, on his last pair.

 

“I recently qualified for Rio 2016 throughout our selection process in the US. I will be going to the next ISSF World Cup in Baku, and then I will return back home to train with the rest of the team. The focus is now on August 10th, when we will compete in Rio.”

 

“I feel much more confident going into Rio: I know what to expect, and I am really excited for it. I shot well on that range in the past,” continued Richmond, who had won the 2007 Pan American Games held in Rio, on the same layout that will be used during the Olympics. “I think I will be a contender.”

 

The 2015 ISSF World Cup Final silver medallist Pan Qiang of the People’s Republic of China, 31, claimed today’s Bronze, beating 29 to 28 hits the winner of the last world cup stage in Rio de Janeiro and the winner of the first shotgun world cup stage of the season in Nicosia, Italy’s Alessandro Chinese, finished in 5th place after the semi-final.