Paralympic Rifle Champ Looks for Olympic Quota at ISSF World Cup

Sweden’s Paralympic shooter Jonas Jacobsson is looking for an Olympic Quota place, after winning 16 Paralympic Gold medals in his impressive sporting career.

The 16-time Paralympic Gold medallist Jonas Jacobsson, a 45-year old Swedish rifle shooter in a wheelchair, made it to his first ISSF World Cup final round on Monday, 11 April, entering the 50m Rifle Prone Men medal event at the 2011 ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup taking place in Chagwon, Korea.

Jacobsson, one of the most successful Paralympic Rifle shooters, with 16 Gold medals won since 1984, and an impressive tally of 25 Paralympic medals, decided to challenge the ISSF World Cup champions, and started competing in the regular ISSF World Cup Series at the beginning of the season, at the ISSF WC Stage in Sydney.

Jacobsson aims at participating in the next Olympic Games. “I am looking for an Olympic Quota Place” Jacobsson said today. “Nothing less. This is only my second competition within the frame of the ISSF World Cup Series, and I made it to the final round, so I am quite confident for the future events.”

Qualified for the medal match with 593 points in eighth and last place, Jacobsson came as close as 0.2 points to Quota after his fifth final shot. Then, firing a couple of frustrating shots in the ninth ring, he ended up in eighth place with a total score of 693.4 points, three places far from qualifying for London 2012.

“I did not shoot at my best” Jacobsson said right after the final “It has nothing do to with the pressure of the match, I was just not at my best.”

“I will keep on chasing after a pass for London 2012, and therefore I will come to the next two ISSF World Cup Stages in Ft. Benning (USA) and Munich (GER), competing in the 50m Rifle Prone event;” he added.

“I have been winning a lot at the Paralympics, and I was looking for a new challenge” Jacobsson concluded.

“We are happy to see Jonas in a final” The ISSF Vice-President, Gary Anderson said after the match “We have been discussing about it with the International Paralympic Committee, and we agreed that Mr. Jacobsson comply with our 50m Rifle Prone regulations and can therefore participate in ISSF competitions, and that he’s eligible to win an Olympic Quota Place. We are looking forward to see him competing again in our Wold Cup Series.”

Jacobsson confirmed he will be at the next ISSF Rifle & Pistol World Cup Stage, kicking-off in Fort Benning, GA, USA, the next 14th of May, trying to gain a spot in the London Games.

Five hundred shooters are competing in the third leg of the 2011 ISSF Wold Cup Series, held in Changwon, Korea, from the 7 through the 14 of April. The best shooters of the world came here trying to secure one of the 24 Olympic Quota Places to be assigned during this competition.