This year, an impressive 1,761 athletes from 105 nations competed in the ISSF World Cup Series. All good things must eventually end however, and thus it was this past week, with the ISSF 2018 World Cup Season ending with the brand new Trap Mixed Team Event in Tucson, AZ, at the Tucson Trap and Skeet Club.
Team USA was present at the match, taking home bronze and gold medals, which upped their overall medal count to two gold, one silver and one bronze (out of five total events). Team USA 2, which features two-time Olympic bronze medalist Corey Cogdell-Unrein and her teammate Casey (Jake) Wallace, finished in the lead with 43 hits, while Kayle Browning and William Hinton on Team USA 1 slid into third with 32 hits. In between the two sets of American shooters was Team France 2, comprised of Sebastien Guerrero and Melanie Couzy, whose 42 hits just barely missed the gold medal.
Cogdell-Unrein and Wallace were near the top of the leaderboard for most of the event, opening the first round of three with 46 hits. They finished Qualification in second place overall with 132 hits. Once in the Final, Cogdell-Unrein and Wallace only missed three targets between the two of them out of the first 25.
When queried about the match, Cogdell-Unrein said: “This is my first Trap Mixed Team medal, and it feels really great. To win it on our home range is amazing.”
No less excited with the U.S. showing, Wallace chimed in that, “It was great to have our teammates in the final. The more flags we can put atop of the flag poles, the better for us. [The] World Championship is next for us, and we will try to build on the momentum we got here, and see what we can do in South Korea.”
Just as a reminder to Shooting Sports USA readers, there will be no ISSF World Cup Final this year, after last year’s Executive Committee decision to only hold the Final once every two years so as to not conflict with the Olympic Games and the World Championship.
International shooters will next meet at the 52nd ISSF World Championship that will feature all shooting events, to be held in Changwon, South Korea, starting August 31, 2018. It is here that the first quota places for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will be assigned.
Photos by ISSF/Nicolo Zangirolami
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