Lima 2023: Italy sweep the board on day five

Italy swept the board at the Lima 2023 World Para Shooting Championships, winning gold medals in all four finals, with three in Para trap and one in air rifle, on Wednesday (26 September).

There were back-to-back renditions of the Italian national anthem as the athletes took their turn at the top of the podium on day five at the Las Palmas Air Base shooting range.

The victories were the first for the country at the Championships and meant it moved from 14th in the medal table to the top, with France in second on two golds and South Korea with one.

The celebrations were topped off when two close friends and roommates in the Italian team’s hotel in Peru’s capital won gold and silver in the PT2 – mixed trap standing (lower limb) SG-L.

To cheers from the crowd, Fabrizio Cormons and Raffaele Talamo embraced just before the last five shots. Cormons, 48, who was competing in his first World Championships final, had started with a three-hit lead which he stretched to four to finish on 37 to Talamo’s 33.

“This is the first time that I have won, and I feel very proud,” said an elated Cormons. “I just went into the final hoping everything would go well and now I feel very emotional.

“I also think the fact that we had the same room during the Championships brought us luck. 

Talamo, 57, an Al Ain 2018 World Cup winner, agreed, and added: “I won silver, but it was like winning gold being with my friend. After all the medals today, the team will be celebrating tonight.”

The pair had been swapping the top spot throughout the final with Cormons ahead in the standings after 10 targets with 9 hits to Talamo’s 8. 

Just five shots later, and it was Talamo in front with 13 to 12, but by 25 targets, Cormons had retaken the lead, which he held.

More Italian glory

Bronze went to Spain’s Ignacio Oloriz Sanz, who came in fifth at last year’s edition in Al Ain, in the United Arab Emirates. Finland’s reigning world champion Vesa Jarvinen finished fifth behind Slovakia’s Filip Marinov, who took silver in Al Ain. India’s Rajveer Sekhon retained his sixth spot from last year’s edition.

It was Davide Fedigucci’s turn to celebrate gold for Italy when he won a shoot-off against Finland’s Juha Myllymaki on the outdoor shotgun range in the PT1 – mixed trap seated SG-S.

The athletes were tied on 34 before Fedigucci edged ahead to win his first World Championships title. The 50-year-old also made history as the first Para trap gold medallist of the inaugural World Shooting Para Sports Championships held in the Americas. Myllymaki upgraded sixth place from Al Ain last year to take silver. 

“I had to really concentrate in the final as the tension was very high,” said Fedigucci. “Just going into the competition, I was happy to get any medal, so to win gold, I am very pleased.”

Spain’s Pedro Gomez Albendea, the Osijek 2023 World Cup winner, took the bronze. Three athletes from the United Arab Emirates, Saif Alhemeiri, Mohammed Alhashmi and Mohammed Alhebsi, took fourth, fifth and sixth places, respectively.

There were also cheers for Italy’s Gabriele Nanni after he successfully defended his title in the PT3 – mixed trap standing (upper limb) SG-U. The world number one, who was also crowned Osijek 2023 World Cup champion in July, beat off a challenge from Spain’s Adrian Becker Castillo to win 40 to 38. He also came in second behind Nanni a year ago.

UAE athlete Ahmad Buhaleeba took the bronze, followed by Great Britain’s Mike Drever, who just missed out on a medal in fourth, and Luxembourg’s Steve Notham in fifth. Jean-Michel Brune from France was disqualified due to overweight ammunition.

“I am so excited to win and to defend my title for the second time,” said Nanni. “I wasn’t confident going into the final because I didn’t do well in the qualifications, but I put my best effort into the competition, and I made it.”

Team event

Livia Cecagallina and Roberto Lazzaro won their country's first gold of the day in the R11 – mixed team 10m air rifle standing SH2.

The Italian athletes, who were bronze medallist at last year’s edition in Al Ain, faced South Korean athletes, Younmi Kim, a silver medallist at the Al Ain 2021 World Cup and Myungho Lee.

The South Koreans started ahead, winning the first two of 16 points, but Cecagallina, 24, and Lazzaro, the R5 winner at the Al Ain 2021, came straight back to clinch the second series.

The teams tied in the third on 21.1, but by the fifth, the Italians were widening the gap and continued to do so until they closed out the competition 16 to 4. 

Cecagallina admitted that she had been concentrating so hard during the event that she did not immediately realise that they had won.

“I didn’t know; I was so focussed, but when I found out, I was so happy,” she said. “We went into the competition hoping to shoot the best we could, and that’s what we did.”

The intense battle for bronze was won by Ukraine's reigning world champions Anastasiia Telizhenko and Vitalii Plakushchyi, who overcame a formidable Brazilian duo, Jessica Michalack and Alexandre Galgani. 

They had gone into the 16th series tied at 15 points each, but after a high-scoring last round by the Ukranians they took home the third spot on the podium. “I feel so happy that we won the bronze medal,” said a delighted and relieved Telizhenko. 

Lima 2023 continues on Wednesday (27 September), the penultimate day of the World Championships, and you can watch it on the World Shooting Para Sport website and Facebook page. Live results are available here.

You can also follow all the action from the Peruvian capital and go behind the scenes on the World Para Shooting Sport social media channels on Instagram and Twitter.