World records galore at shooting range with Euros coming to an end

As the first edition of the European Para Games came to an end, the top names truly delivered once more at the shooting range of the Rotterdam Ahoy during the finals on Saturday and Sunday (19 and 20 August). 

Polish athletes rose to the occasion in tremendous fashion. Katarzyna Orzechowska led Poland's one-two in the VIP - mixed 10m air rifle prone SH-VI to win gold on 245.0 points. 

Poland ended their campaign on the European stage with two gold from six medals, followed by Ukraine with five medals including one gold and Slovakia with two medals and one gold. 

In a closely contested final, compatriot Barbara Moskal, who won gold in the VIS - mixed 10m air rifle standing SH-VI on Friday (18), had to settle for silver on 243.5.

Spain's Ager Txakartegi Solabarrieta bagged bronze with 222.4 after he had broken yet another qualification world record with a score of 625.6 earlier in the afternoon.

“I can’t believe it’s true,” Orzechowska said after the final. “I didn’t think that I could win a gold medal in the European Championships.

“Me and Barbara [Moskal] are one team in this sport. It doesn’t matter who from Poland wins gold. But I’m very happy and proud I did it.”

Shchetnik smashes world record in R2

Ukraine’s Iryna Shchetnik stunned the field in the R2 - women's 10m air rifle standing SH by setting a world record with an overall score of 252.0 points.

The 23-year-old smashed Avani Lekhara's previous record mark of 250.6, which the Indian shooter set at the Chateauroux World Cup in France last year. 

Shchetnik, the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic bronze medallist in this event, was a class apart as she led the final from the very first round, fending off strong challenges from her closest rivals including the great Veronika Vadovicova of Slovakia. 

Vadovicova, who also broke a world record in the R3 on Friday, had to settle for silver on 249.6, with Poland's Emilia Babska taking bronze on 225.3.

“I’m feeling very exciting about the new results. I tried not to think about it, because it can cause you more problems when you start thinking about the results,” Shchetnik said.

“I just wanted to make each shot the most perfect as I can do it. So, thankfully to God, it came to 10.8, 10.7, 10.8 and so on. I was just observing the results, like all of you.”

Guillaume-Sage ends Euros with world record

France's Pierre Guillaume-Sage made sure to end the European Para Championships on a high note as well, with a world record in the R5 - mixed 10m air rifle prone SH2. 

He registered an incredible score of 256.5 points to break the 255.8 record mark set by Serbia's Dragan Ristic at the European Championships in Belgrade, Serbia five years ago. 

With incredible precision, Guillaume-Sage thus provided a fitting finale to his time on the shooting range in Rotterdam. He led from start to finish and defeated Vasyl Kovalchuk of Ukraine by a margin of 3.4 points. 

Kovalchuk claimed silver on 255.9, Turkey's Hakan Cevik took bronze on 233.8.

“I was very stressed. My heart went very fast, but I just did what my coach told me what to do. He said: ‘just do what you normally do during training’,” Guillaume-Sage said. 

“I didn’t know I was on my way to break the world record. Only when the announcer mentioned it. I was just very concentrated in order to win the gold medal. I’m very happy about this result.”

Turkish delight for Pehlivanlar

It was also a memorable meet for Turkish shooter Aysegul Pehlivanlar, who registered an overall score of 231.6 to defeat Lithuania's Raimeda Bucinskyte by a convincing margin of 4.0 in the P2 - women's 10m air pistol SH1.

In front of her friends and family at the shooting range of the Rotterdam Ahoy, Pehlivanlar took over the first position from Azerbaijan's Aybaniz Babayeva in the fifth round of the elimination phase and went on the extend her lead even further to claim gold. 

Bucinskyte also came from behind to secure silver on 227.6 ahead of Babayeva, who had to settle for bronze on 210.4 after a disappointing round.

“I’m very excited and so happy, because we worked very hard for this. My whole team and family have helped me in order to get here," Pehlivanlar said after the final. 

“It’s a great feeling to celebrate this gold medal all together here. I really can’t explain the feeling right now.

“Everyone played a big part in this gold medal and I hope I'll even be better at the 2024 Paralympic Games (in Paris) next year.”

Fantastic Franceschetti finds gold

Battling it out against powerhouses such as Poland and Ukraine in Rotterdam, Italy managed to take home one medal. And Davide Franceschetti made sure it was gold of colour.

Following an impressive performance, Franceschetti claimed victory in the P1 - men's 10m air pistol SH1. His score of 236.3 saw him pip Poland's Kacper Pierzynsk to first place. 

Pierzynsk took silver with a score of 235.9, as Oleksii Denysiuk of Ukraine rounded out the top three on 213.3.

“I’m over the moon. I’m excited, I’m shaking like a leaf. The gold medal is a reward for all the sacrifices I’ve done until now,” Franceschetti said. 

“On entering the final I was calm, relaxed and sure about what I was doing. I hoped to get on the podium but not in the first place.”

The Lima 2023 World Championships now await for the Italian shooter, as the shooting Para sport circuit moves to Peru next month. 

“I have plans to work hard, step up the game and try to get on the podium [in Lima]. I’m not expecting the first place, but the third position at least,” Franceschetti said. 

Complete results from the shooting Para sport action in Rotterdam can be found here.

Shooting Para sport was one of the ten sports to be part of the first edition of the European Para Championships. More information about the event is available on the official website.