Shooting Day 2 Preview: Diamond and Alipov search for more gold
(BEIJING, August 9) -- Two gold medals will be awarded tomorrow in the Olympic Shooting competition for the Women's 10m Air Pistol and the Men's Trap.
The Men's Trap will undoubtedly be the highlight of the day because a slew of top-rated shooters will slug it out for the gold medal. Australia's Michael Diamond has the chance to win his third gold medal in the event and Russia's Alexey Alipov can win his second.
In the three qualification rounds that were held today, David Kostelecky of the Czech Republic was the top shooter after hitting 73 targets. Italian Giovanni Pellielo also hit 73 targets but is ranked second because he hit two less targets than Kostelecky in the third round.
Diamond and Alipov both hit 72 targets and are placed in the top six, thus setting up a solid platform for them to snare another gold medal.
The final two qualification rounds of the Men's Trap will begin at 9 a.m. tomorrow and will be followed by the final round at 3 p.m. The six top scoring shooters from the qualification rounds will qualify for the final.
If 33-year-old Kostelecky continues to shoot well, he could cause a major upset by defeating Diamond and Alipov. The giant Czech (he is 1.90m tall) came sixth in the Men's Trap at Sydney 2000.
World No. 1 Guo Wenjun of China will be looking to win a gold medal on home soil in the Women's 10m Air Pistol. However, the 24-year-old Chinese shooter will have to beat some very experienced competitors.
Australia's Lalita Yauhleuskaya will probably be Guo's main threat. Yauhleuskaya, 44, won a bronze medal in the event at Sydney 2000 when she was still shooting for her native Belarus. Athens 2004 was the first Olympics in which she represented the green and gold of Australia.
Bulgaria's Maria Grozdeva is another experienced campaigner who will be desperate for gold. Grozdeva, 36, has won three Olympic bronze medals in the event, as well as winning two gold medals in the Women's 25m Pistol.
http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/shooting/n214522457.shtml
