Men’s 10m Air Rifle
Jiri Privratsky (Czech Republic) led after the first round of shots with Julian Gutierrez (Argentina) scoring 107.4 in the second round. Milan Maricic (Croatia) would lead heading into the final round but faltered and Sheng Lihao(China) would take the top spot in qualification. Lihao was the fastest starter in the final and Arjun Babuta (India) managed to get within 0.1 after 12 shots. However, by 18 shots Lihao led by 2.2 with Maricic, Victor Lindgren(Sweden) and Babuta separated by 0.6. That trio went even closer in the following shot with 0.4 covering the trio. In the shot that decided which trio would be on the podium, it was Babuta who faltered, finishing fourth. A poor series saw Lihao come back to the field and he led by 0.6 with two shots to go. It was enough as he increased the winning margin to 0.8.
🥇Sheng Lihao 🇨🇳
🥈Victor Lindgren 🇸🇪
🥉Miran Maricic 🇭🇷
I will keep repeating that the shooting events are hard to predict. Lindgren was a name that I did mention was a possibility
Men’s 50m Rifle Three Positions
Four men would shoot 199 in the kneeling round. In the prone round, three shot 200 but it was Lucas Kryzs(France) and Serhiy Kulish (Ukraine) leading on 398. Liu Yukun (China) led the standing round with a 198 to top qualifying. In the final, the competitors started kneeling. Kryzs led at 52.3 ahead of Jon-Hermann Hegg (Norway) at 52.1. After five more shots, it was Hegg ahead of Yukun and Kulish. The lead would only extend after another five shots. Twenty-five shots in and the top trio had become Hegg, Yukun and Jiri Privratsky (Czech Republic) separated by just 0.4. At the end of the prime round, Hegg led by 0.6 and Kulish had gone back into third ahead of Privratsky. The first five standing shots saw Yukun take a big advantage to go back into first. After 40 shots Kulish was in the lead by 0.1 from Yukun with Swapnil Kusale (India) in third. Hegg would struggle in the standing phase, his usual strength, to only finish fifth. With three shots left, Kulish had extended his edge to 0.3. A poor shot from Kulish would see Yukun go back into the lead by 0.8. Heading into the final shot, Yukun extended his edge to 1.8 and would score 9.9 to seal gold
🥇Liu Yukon 🇨🇳
🥈Serhiy Kulish 🇺🇦
🥉Swapnil Kusale 🇮🇳
I had Kulish down as being competitive. Most of the finalists were mentioned in my write up and I even mentioned Yukon as the stronger Chinese shooter.
Men’s 10m Air Pistol
Three shooters scored 99 in round one of qualification in Damir Mikec (Serbia), Michele Esercitato (Canada) and Samir Bouchireb (Algeria). The third round saw the first score of 100 from Yusuf Dikec (Turkey) and he led at halfway with Pavlo Korostylov (Ukraine). In round four it was Sarabjot Singh (India) with a score of 100 before Christian Reitz (Germany) did it in round five. Mikec would lead qualifying with 584 ahead of Federico Nilo Maldini (Italy) with 581. The drama came as Robin Walter (Germany) qualified over Singh and Ismail Keles(Turkey) based on more inner 10’s. Paolo Monna (Italy) started the final fastest and led after each of the first four rounds. He would drop the lead to compatriot Maldini in the fifth round. By halfway it was down to Lee Won-ho(South Korea), Xie Yu (China), Monna and Maldini but the top three had a gap on Won-ho. Won-ho would not get the miracle needed and the podium was set. Monna would start to fade though and was next out whilst Yu came on strong over the last few rounds and was able to secure gold.
🥇Xie Yu 🇨🇳
🥈Federico Nilo Maldini 🇮🇹
🥉Paolo Monna 🇮🇹
Monna was the only one of the medalists that I gave a decent mention to.
Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol
Three shooters scored 100 in the 8s. At the end of the first stage of qualifying, one of them, Cho Yeong-jae (South Korea) led on 297. The second stage was led by Leuris Pupo (Cuba) but his day one kept him from qualifying. Instead, it was the consistency of Li Yuehong (China) on 588 who led qualifying. He would lead the final for the first three rounds but Yeong-jae went top in the fourth round. Yuehong was joined by Florian Peter (Germany) and Pavlo Korostylov (Ukraine) on 14, a shot behind. A two from the Ukrainian sent him out. Yuehong would score five in the sixth series to go top with Peter and Yeong-jae only scoring two. That allowed Wang Xinjie (China) into third. With Yuehong scoring nine of his ten in the last two series it was enough to confirm gold.
🥇Li Yuehong 🇨🇳
🥈Chi Yeong-Jae 🇰🇷
🥉Wang Xinjie 🇨🇳
I mentioned the Koreans are strong but preferred the other.
Men’s Skeet
Eleven men went perfect in the opening qualifying round with nine in the following round. It was seven in round three and Vincent Hancock (United States) was the only man on 75. Eight would manage it in round four with that number in easing to fifteen in round five. Connor Prince (United States) would top qualification in a shoot-off having set an equal Olympic record with Lee Meng-yuan (Taiwan) and Tammaro Cassandro (Italy). Hancock set the pace with a perfect first 20. Ten shots later and the four remaining competitors were all tied on 29. Prince would go into the lead with a ten as Hancock scored nine and Cassandro was eliminated. Prince could only score nine the following round, leaving him level with Hancock. The experience would tell as Hancock shot a perfect ten, taking his fourth Olympic gold medal.
🥇Vincent Hancock 🇺🇸
🥈Connor Prince 🇺🇸
🥉Lee Meng-yuan 🇹🇼
I had a feeling that Hancock would compete but thought he was maybe past his best and could not win. Prince and Meng-yuan were not on my radar.
Men’s Trap
Six men hit a perfect 25 in the opening qualifying round and only Oguzhan Tuzun (Turkey) could repeat that in the second round. Eight shooters would score two perfect 25s in the last two rounds including Qi Ying (China) who led qualifying from Nathan Hales (Great Britain). Six men were tied on 122 and with two spots available it took 11 hits to qualify. Hales got the early lead with a 24 ahead of Ying on 23. He would extend the lead when getting to 33 with Ying and Jean Pierre Brol (Guatemala) on 31. Two perfect rounds would seal gold for Hales with Ying able to stay in front of Brol.
🥇Nathan Hales 🇬🇧
🥈Qi Ying 🇨🇳
🥉Jean Pierre Brol 🇬🇹
I mentioned both Hales and Ying but instead went elsewhere.
Women’s 10m Air Rifle
Jeanette Hegg Duestad (Norway) took the early lead in qualifying with the highest score in the opening two rounds. In the third round, Yesugen Oyunbag (Mongolia) scored 106.5 the highest round of the day so far, only for Ban Hyo-jin (South Korea) to score 106.6 in the following round, a feat that Anna Janssen (Germany) matched in round five. Hyo-jin took qualifying with an Olympic record of 634.6 despite only being 16. Yuting Huang (China) would start the final quickest and hold onto the lead as the first eliminations began. Hyo-Jin would take the lead back as the two pulled away from the field, consistently scoring 10s. Shot 19 saw the pair tied, two points ahead of Audrey Gogniat (Switzerland) who led Sagen Maddalena (United States) by 0.5. Gogniat would score a 10.7 to secure a medal. Hyo-jin would edge away with Huang only scoring 9.6 for shot 22. With the gold medal beckoning Hyo-jin herself scored 9.6, sending the final to sudden death. Ban-ho would then score 10.4 to the 10.3 of Huang, winning herself an incredible gold.
🥇Ban Hyo-jin 🇰🇷
🥈Yuting Huang 🇨🇳
🥉Audrey Gogniat 🇨🇭
I thought Huang would be the stronger Chinese participant. Aside from that, neither Hyo-Jin nor Gogniat was really mentioned as a big contender.
Women’s 50m Rifle Three Positions
Seonaid McIntosh (Great Britain) and Zhang Qiongyue (China) led with 199 after the kneeling segment of qualification. Sagen Maddalena (United States) would join Qiongyue in the lead after a perfect probe round. Three ladies scored 197 in the standing phase and that saw Chiara Leone (Switzerland) and Oyuunbatyn Yesugen (Mongolia) qualify. Nadine Ungerank (Austria) would lead the final after the kneeling phase with Leone. Maddalena would go into the lead with a strong prone phase. Qiongyue put herself into contention with a strong start to the standing round. At the halfway stage the four remaining competitors were separated by 0.8, led by Maddalena. She would only shoot a 9.4 relinquishing the lead whilst Duestad went out with a 9.7. Qiongyue would go out after tying the next shot with Maddalena. Leone would go on to set an Olympic record taking gold.
🥇Chiara Leone 🇨🇭
🥈Sagen Maddalena 🇺🇸
🥉Zhang Qiongyue 🇨🇳
Neither Duestad nor McIntosh medalled but I would have called that one of my stronger predictions for the shooting. Maddalena was mentioned as a big contender
Women’s 10m Air Pistol
Li Xue (China) led after the first round. She could only score 97 in the second round but it was another score of 99 in the third round that saw her leading at halfway. Tanyaporn Prucksakorn (Thailand) scored the first 100 in round four whilst Trinh Thu Vinh (Vietnam) repeated in the fifth round. Xue could only finish with a 93-94 to scrape into the final. Instead Veronika Major (Hungary) and Oh Ye-jin (South Korea) both scored 582 whilst Manu Bhaker (India) scored the most inner 10’s. Major was the first out in the final whilst it was the Koreans who were dominating. By halfway both of the Chinese competitors were out as South Korea dominated. Ye-jin led from Kim Ye-ji (South Korea). It would come down to them and Bhaker for the podium spots as all three were separated by just 1.2. Bhaker would pass Ye-ji on shot 21 only for Ye-ji to respond and go ahead of Bhaker by 0.1 to get herself to the gold medal final. Entering the final shot, Ye-jin had a lead of 1.1. Ye-jin would land her final shot and set an Olympic record.
🥇Oh Ye-jin 🇰🇷
🥈Kim Ye-ji 🇰🇷
🥉Manu Bhaker 🇮🇳
I did put Ye-Jin as a big contender but mentioned it’d be a surprise if she medalled.
Women’s 25m Pistol
After the precision section of qualification, Veronika Major (Hungary) was tied with Manu Bhaker (India) and Camille Jedrzejewski (France) on 294. Major would lead the rapid section with a 298 to set an Olympic record 592, five points ahead of Trinh Thu Vinh (Vietnam). A poor start in the final from Katelyn Abeln (United States) saw her go out first. By halfway, the top four were separated by two points. Manu Bhaker (India) would draw level with Major but the Hungarian would go through on a shootout. She could only win bronze. Jedrzejewski and Yang Ji-in (South Korea) would go to a shootout after being tied in the last two rounds. It was Ji-in who handled the pressure better to take the gold.
🥇Yang Ji-in 🇰🇷
🥈Camille Jedrzejewski 🇫🇷
🥉Veronika Major 🇭🇺
I mentioned the wrong Korean and wrong French shooter as possible contenders
Women’s Skeet
Five ladies scored 25 in the first round of qualification with Amber Rutter (Great Britain) repeating it in the second round. Austen Smith (United States) would score two more 25’s to lead qualification. Vanesa Hockova (Slovakia) would go perfect for the longest in the final but then miss three of four. After twenty shots it was Francisca Cravetto Chadid (Chile) and Rutter tied on nineteen. After thirty shots Cravetto Chadid led Ritter by one. The top three would remain the same after forty shots. Rutter and Smith would both miss a shot meaning the Chilean led by two entering the final showdown. She would miss two shots in the first four shots of the final round to send Rutter in front. Rutter would miss her ninth shot though. Cravetto Chadid needed four shots to win but would miss her second sending it to a shootout. Rutter would miss her sixth shot in the shootout but Cravetto Chadid was not able to take advantage. In shot eight, Rutter would hit the target but it did not give off the smoke and she was given a miss.
🥇Francisca Cravetto Chadid 🇨🇱
🥈Amber Rutter 🇬🇧
🥉Austen Smith 🇺🇸
I mentioned the wrong American whilst Cravetto Chadid did not get mentioned as a threat
Women’s Trap
Five women scored 25 in the opening round and after the first three rounds, Mar Molne (Spain) was on a perfect 75 ahead of compatriot Fatima Gálvez (Spain) on 74. Wu Cuicui (China) would score 50 over the final two rounds to qualify for the final with Molne leading qualification on 123. The final saw a poor opening salvo, led by Adriana Ruano Oliva (Guatemala) on 23. Molne in second on 21, would only hit a two in the following round. A four in the following round and she was eliminated. With the podium finishers sorted Oliva led by three. A strong round later and it was four. She would go on to set an Olympic record of 45.
🥇Adriana Ruano Oliva 🇬🇹
🥈Silvana Stanco 🇮🇹
🥉Penny Smith 🇦🇺
I do mention the Italians are strong but picked the wrong one. I do not even mention Ruano Oliva
10m Air Rifle Mixed Team
Huang/Sheng (China) topped qualification with a score of 632.2 ahead of Ji-hyeon/Ha-jun (South Korea) with both teams led by the female competitors. Le/Satpayev (Kazakhstan) were third with Satpayev scoring the highest number in the qualifying round. Janssen/Ulbrich (Germany) edged Duestad/Hegg (Norway) by 0.1 to make the medal rounds. It was a dominant performance by Kazakhstan in the bronze medal match. They shared the opening eight points before Kazakhstan won six straight. Germany never got back into and Kazakhstan won 17-5. The final was more of a battle. China went 6-2 up despite losing the first round. South Korea would fight back to only be trialling 14-12. China would get the win by taking two points in the next round and winning the first Olympic gold.
🥇Yuting Huang/Lihao Sheng 🇨🇳
🥈Keum Ji-hyeon/Park Ha-jun 🇰🇷
🥉Alexandra Le/Islam Satpayev 🇰🇿
China looked the strongest here and so it proved. The other predictions were off.
10m Air Pistol Mixed Team
In qualification, Dikec/Tarhan (Turkey) set the pace with 196 before improving to 197 in the second round. They topped qualification with a 582, matching Mikec/Arunovic (Serbia). In the bronze medal matchup Bhaker/Singh (India) took an early lead and Won-ho/Ye-jin (South Korea) were never able to get back on terms. The final was much more dramatic with Turkey taking an 8-2 lead before Serbia pulled it back to 12-12. Turkey would go a round away from winning it with a 20.3 only for Serbia to level it up on match point with an incredible 21.3. In the shot that decided the gold medal, Turkey would score 19.3 but Serbia scored 20.1 to take gold.
🥇Damir Mikec/Zorana Arunovic 🇷🇸
🥈Yusuf Dikec/Sevval Ilayda Tarhan 🇹🇷
🥉Sarabjot Singh/Manu Bhaker 🇮🇳
I thought Serbia would be strong here. I pointed out South Korea should be good and they came fourth.
10m Skeet Mixed Team
Three individuals would shoot 75 in qualification, with two leading their teams to qualification. Rossetti/Bacosi (Italy) scored 149 to lead qualification with Hancock/Smith (United States) on 148. In the final, Rossetti would edge Hancock in the first set to an early lead. That would be reversed in the second set but Bacosi edged Smith to win Italy the gold by a shot. In the bronze medal match Jianlin/Yiting (China) were able to get the victory by a point.
🥇Gabriele Rossetti/Diana Bacosi 🇮🇹
🥈Vincent Hancock/Austen Smith 🇺🇸
🥉Lyu Jianlin/Jiang Yiting 🇨🇳
I got the final correct but the wrong order. China were not a team I really mentioned.
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