The ISSF World Cup Final for Shotgun featured one of the most intense battles ever in the men’s Skeet final. Competing in Al-Ain (UAE), two-time Italian Olympian Luigi Lodde faced off against two-time Olympic champ Vincent Hancock of the U.S., among others.
The competition was remarkable, with Lodde and Hancock matched, shot-for-shot, through the first elimination after 20 shots, then after 30 shots and 40 shots.
The fourth round, through 50 shots, eliminated Egypt’s Azmy Mehelba, who had hit his first 37 targets, then missed one, and hit 13 more in a row … but it wasn’t good enough.
At 50-for-50 each, Lodde and Hancock continued in the final match. Both his three more in a row, but Hancock missed on his 54th shot and Lodde didn’t, finishing with a perfect score of 60, equaling the world record of Angad Vir Singh Bajwa (IND) at the 2018 Asian Championships in 2018.
That duel overshadowed another world record, by China’s Meng Wei, the 2019 Worlds silver winner in Skeet, who shot 59/60 in her final to pass American Kim Rhode’s mark of 58, set last year. Wei defeated Brit Amber Hill in the final, with American Amber English third.
Aeriel Skinner of the U.S. won the women’s Trap final, 43-41 over Australia’s Laetisha Scanlan and Mauro de Filippis gave Italy a sweep of the men’s titles with a 44-41 Trap win against Alexey Alipov of Russia.
Mixed Team events, with athletes from different countries on the same team, were held on Sunday. Catherine Skinner (AUS) and Khaled Almudhof (KUW) won the Mixed Trap event and Luke Peter Argiro (AUS) and American Caitlin Connor won the Skeet event. Summaries:
ISSF Shotgun World Cup Final
Al Ain (UAE) ~ 10-13 October 2019
(Full results here)
Men
Trap: 1. Mauro de Filippis (ITA), 44; 2. Alexey Alipov (RUS), 41; 3. Alberto Fernandez (ESP), 34; 4. Josip Glasnovic (CRO), 26; 5. James Willett (AUS), 22.
Skeet: 1. Luigi Lodde (ITA), 60 (equals World Record, Angad Vir Singh Bajwa (IND), 2018); 2. Vincent Hancock (USA), 59; 3. Azmy Mehelba (EGY), 49; 4. Jakub Tomecek (CZE), 38; 5. Gabriele Rossetti (ITA), 29.
Women
Trap: 1. Aeriel Skinner (USA), 43; 2. Laetisha Scanlan (AUS), 41; 3. Alessia Iezzi (ITA), 31; 4. Emilia Galvez (ESP), 27; 5. Ashley Carroll (USA), 23.
Skeet: 1. Meng Wei (CHN), 59 (World Record; old, 58, Kim Rhode (USA), 2018); 2. Amber Hill (GBR), 55; 3. Amber English (USA), 47; 4. Andri Eleftheriou (CYP), 37; 5. Chiara Cainero (ITA), 26. Also: 6. Caitlin Connor (USA), 17.