U.S. shooter Derrick Mein earned fifth place in the Paris 2024 Olympics Men’s Trap final at the Chateauroux Shooting Center on Tuesday, July 30.
“I just didn’t quite have enough to get over the hump there,” Mein said after his elimination from the final.
He exited Men’s Trap qualification earlier on Tuesday with the number six bib, with six shooters that headed to the final.
After the first 15 shots in the final, Mein had missed two birds and found himself in fifth place. By his 20th shot, he had jumped to fourth place with a score of 18.
Going into the next round of 20 shots, Mein was perfect for 10 straight targets, giving him a score of 18 of 20.
At this point during the final, the next five targets would decide the first elimination for sixth place.
Mein missed shot 24, putting him in a tie for fifth place with Guatemalan shooter Jean Peirre Brol Cardenas, both with 21.
Next, Mein made shot 25, keeping in the race with 22 of 25 targets and still in fifth place. Australian shooter James Willett was the first to be eliminated from the final with a score of 19.
In the next round, Cardenas missed a shot, giving Mein fourth place. After Mein missed his 30th shot, he was eliminated from the final in fifth place with a score of 26 of 30.
Mein mentioned that he was proud to shoot for the United States, and that he gave it his all during the extremely hot conditions in France today which, when combined with the extreme pressure of being in an Olympic final, he described as “brutal.” The temperature during the final was 95° F.
“The medals were there for the taking. Unfortunately, when you’re stuck with the sixth bib, it’s hard to overcome sometimes,” Mein said. “I gave my best effort. I was proud to be out there representing the U.S.”
Mein already has his eyes on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
When asked about his future plans, Mein said he wants to “go back home, start working out. I have room for improvement. Hopefully, 2028 will be in my book going forward.”
As for the Paris 2024 Men's Trap medalists, Great Britain’s Nathan Hales topped the leaderboard to win the gold medal with an Olympic record score of 48. Hales shattered the previous record of 43 set by Czech shooter David Kostelecky at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Taking silver was Qi Ying of China with 44, while the aforementioned Cardenas earned the bronze medal with a score of 35.
In addition, Mein’s U.S. teammate, William Hinton, was in 27th place after failing to advance from the Men’s Trap qualification round.
Keep checking back with Shooting Sports USA as we share competition updates and results for Team USA shooters at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
