Josefin Eder of Germany earned a Paris 2024 quota place at the ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship for Rifle & Pistol in Rio de Janeiro after winning the 25m pistol women event following a shoot-off.
Longtime leader Eder held off the late challenge of France’s Camille Jedrzejewski after both had concluded the main competition on 35 hits, with Hungary’s former world record holder Veronika Major claiming the second Olympic quota place by finishing in bronze-medal position.
Jedrzejewski, who secured an Olympic quota place at the 2023 European Championships in Tallinn, had drawn level with Eder on 31 after the penultimate round of shooting.
Major, 27, who competed in the 25m pistol and 10m air pistol at the Tokyo 2020 Games, was the only one of the three remaining athletes to score a maximum of five hits in the round, but that was only enough to bring her total to 30.
Eder, 28, who finished sixth in this event at last year’s ISSF World Cup event in Rio, fell behind during the final sequence of five shots after missing her first effort, but Jedrzejewski’s miss on her fourth shot meant both finished on 35.
The German athlete won the day by scoring both of her first shoot-out efforts, with Jedrzewski missing both times.
The emotion and tension of the occasion became clear as Eder covered her face with her hand before regaining her composure to accept the acclaim of her team-mates.
Vietnam’s Thu Vinh Trinh was fourth, one place ahead of Haniyeh Rostamiyan of Iran.
Greece’s Rio 2016 gold medallist Anna Korakaki, who briefly took the lead, looked a little underwhelmed at finishing sixth.
Seventh place went to Miroslava Mincheva of Bulgaria, with Xiu Hong Teh of Singapore finishing eighth.