Munich, Mar 22, 2016: The American athlete shot a perfect medal match, beating the home champion Andri Eleftheriou to claim her first world cup gold in career. Her teammate Jacob took the Bronze. Reigning Olympic Champion Rhode finished in 6th.
The world ranking’s leader Morgan Craft of USA won today’s Skeet final at the ISSF World Cup in Nicosia, upsetting the home champion Andri Eleftheriou in the Gold medal match.
Craft, 22, left no chances to her opponent, scoring 16 out of 16 targets in the match, and securing the first world cup gold medal of the season, which also turned out to be her first world cup victory in career.
Eleftheriou, 31, closed the match in second place, with 15 hits, after missing a crucial clay on station four.
Craft started-off the competition with a perfect 25 during this morning’s qualifications, making it into the semi-final with 71 hits.
At the end of the semi-final, with a tally of 14 hits, she had to pass through a three-way shoot-off to access the gold medal match, beating her 16-year old teammate Katharina Monika Jacob.
Craft is considered the best Skeet Women shooter of the world. In 2015, she pocketed two world cup medals in Larnaca (Bronze) and Gabala (Silver), and won the ISSF World Championship held in Lonato. In October then, here in Nicosia, she sealed a great season with a world cup final Bronze medal.
Her sights are now clearly set on Rio 2016, as she has already qualified last year, through her world championship victory.
“The pressure is off, to make the Olympic team. It was such a relief to make the team at last year’s world championship,” says Craft. “ Making it into the team for Rio was a goal of mine for the past eight years. Over the next three months I will be competing at the Rio test event and at the ISSF World Cup in San Marino, trying to get as much experience as I can before the Games, because I feel that makes me better.”
“Today it was great, overall. Considering that this is the first world cup of the year, I couldn’t be happier!”
“Going into the final with two teammates of mine was awesome. We were 50% of the final, actually. Our secret? Our great coaches, the program we have grown up through, and the fact that we have so much talent in USA: we push each other and make each other better.”
Craft’s teammate Jacob, at her first participation in a world cup event, claimed today’s Bronze by beating London 2012 Olympic Bronze medallist Danka Bartekova of Slovakia (31) by 14 to 12 hits.
The young American shooter is coached by the father of the two-time Olympic Champion Vincent Hancock, Craig. Actually, she moved to Hancock family’s house two years ago, where she lives now, sleeping in Vincent’s former bedroom.
“Craig is a great coach, I give him so much credit for everything I have been able to accomplish. He has been training me since 2012. Today’s competition has been amazing!” Jacob said.
Thailand’s Sutiya Jiewchaloemmit (29) took the 5th place with a semi-final score of 13+5 hits, as she lost a shoot-off against Bartekova to access the Bronze medal match. She was followed by the reigning Olympic Champion, USA’s Kimberly Rhode (34), who closed the match in 6th with 10 hits.
The last event of this ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Nicosia, the Trap Men competition, will start tomorrow (March 23rd) with the first qualifications day. The Final will take place on the following day, March 24th, at 3.00 PM (UTC+2). —- ISSF
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