Host country Germany celebrated two medals on the last competition day of the 2015 ISSF World Cup Final in Munich, today, as Selina Gschwandtner and Barbara Engleder won gold and silver at the women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions final.
21-year old Gschwandtner took the lead of the match since the kneeling series, the first fraction of the match, and shot consistently throughout the prone and standing series, finishing ahead of her teammate Barbara Engleder (32) with 459.4 points.
Engleder, the 2010 ISSF World Champion, took silver with 455.6 points, confirming to be one of the best rifle shooters of the world after winning a world cup stage gold here in Munich earlier this year.
The title defender and current world's #1 Snjezana Pejcic of Croatia (32) followed the two German teammates in third place, securing bronze with 446.5 points, after a neck and neck duel against South Korea's 20-year old Seo Young Yoo (20), who landed in fourth with 429.6 points. The winner of the last world cup stage of the season Chen Dongqi of China (26) – ranked second in the world – ended up in fifth place with 420.4 points.
“It feels great! There are so many spectators here in Munich, the support I have received is fantastic!” Gschwandtner said after the final.
“I wasn't too nervous. The kneeling section of the match was really positive, the prone was ok, and then finally the standing turned out to be good, and luckily I made it. This event is quite challenging, it's not easy to shoot well in all three positions, during the same match.” Added the German shooter.
Closing her last junior year with a world championship's bronze medal in Granada in 2014, Gschwandtner quickly adapted to senior competitions, winning a world cup stage bronze in Changwon at the beginning of the 2015 season, and then placing in 5th at the following world cup in Munich, climbing the world rank up to the 10th place.
“Now, I hope I will be able to shoot at the Olympics in Rio. There will be a selection match in 2016, and I hope I will make it through.”