Bacosi, Cainero and Spada won the Skeet Women's Gold, Silver and Bronze at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Al Ain (UAE), securing two Rio 2016 Quota Places.
It has been a great day for Italy, today, at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Al Ain (UAE).
Three Italian athletes finished on the Skeet Women podium: Diana Bacosi, Chiara Cainero and Katiuscia Spada secured Gold, Silver and Bronze, as well as two Rio 2016 Olympic Quota Places, defeating their opponents from Australia, USA and Great Britain.
“Our girls did a great job today.” Said the Italian coach, the 2004 Skeet Olympic Champion Andrea Benelli. “Gaining three medals and two Olympic Quotas in a single match is an extraordinary achievement which probably has no parallels in the history of our sport.”
The Gold medal went to Diana Bacosi, 31, currently ranked ninth in the world. The Italian athlete qualified for the Finals with 71 hits out of 75 targets, and then finished the semi-final on top of the board with 14 hits out of 16 targets.
In the Gold medal match, she met and beat the 2008 Olympic Champion, her teammate Chiara Cainero, scoring 13 targets to Cainero's 10. Cainero had made it into the final match after winning a qualification's shoot-off (70+4 targets) against the reigning Olympic Champion Kimberly Rhode of USA (70+3 targets).
Both Bacosi and Cainero were awarded a Rio 2016 Olympic Quota Place, and therefore Italy reached the maximum number of qualified athletes in this event.
Bacosi said: “I have been working hard to get upon this podium, in the last months. I have been shooting more than I used to do in the past, and I was helped by a sport psychologist to improve my self confidence.”
“The hard work finally payed off today.” She added. “It's great to win an Olympic Quota place, and an ISSF World Cup Gold.”
The third Italian finalist, the 2010 World Cup champion Katiuscia Spada, 33, pocketed the Bronze medal, as she beat Australia's first-time finalist Laura Coles, 27, by 15 to 10 hits in the medal match.
“Today's Finals have been exceptional.” Gold medallist Bacosi said. “I am happy that the whole team made it on the podium. We're really working well together, and our coach Andrea Benelli has changed the way we look at competitions, improving our results.”
The Italian Skeet team is indeed the first to have reached the maximum number of qualified athletes, two men and two women, on the way to Rio.
“We shouldn't loose the focus, now.” Italy's coach Benelli remarked. “The road leading to Rio is still very long, and nobody is guaranteed a spot in the Olympic team right now. Off course we will prepare the next competitions with a different mood, now that we've achieved all the Quota Places we could possibly catch. But that does not mean it will be anyway easier: the aim is to peak right in time for Rio 2016.”
Following the three Italian medal winners and fourth-placed Coles of Australia, the qualifications' leader Caitlin Connor took the fifth spot (72 targets in the qualifications, 10 targets in the semi-final). Great Britain's Elena Allen closed in sixth place, with a score of 71 hits in the qualifications and 9 hits in the semi-final.
The ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Al Ain, held at the Al Ain's Equestrian, Shooting and Gold club will continue tomorrow, with the last medal match – Skeet Men – scheduled to take place at 16.45. Follow the Finals live on www.issf-sports.org