The first day of competition of the Clay Shooting World Championship, on stage in Lonato del Garda and dedicated to the Olympic pit, with 332 athletes, among the best in the international ranking, engaged in the first part of the climb that will lead to the highest place on the roof of the planet. After the first 75 targets, out of the 125 preceding the finals, in the men's trap it was the blue Mauro De Filippis (75/75) who finished in the lead of the group. The Apulian shooter, who had won a world cup match in Lonato in 2010 (in addition to the most recent one in Changwon 2018) was the only athlete to finish with full points at the end of the first day of competition. Behind him, at only one length, is currently positioned one of the revelations of this World Cup, the Egyptian Ahmed Kamar (74) paired with the young British Mattew Coward Holley (74), fresh silver in the world cup trial in Acapulco . Together with them, always at 74, there are two big names in international skeet shooting: the Croatian Giovanni Cernogoraz, Olympic gold medal at London 2012, and Aaron Heading, the star of the English regiment, both chasing the first world title. Slightly detached, but still fully in the race, we find the other two blues called up by the technical director Albano Pera, Valerio Grazini and Giovanni Pellielo, who stopped the “day one” score at 73/75 and 72/75 respectively.
Moving on to the other half of the sky, Alessandra Perilli (73/75) was the best of the shooters on the platform after three fifths of the course. The woman from San Marino, who after many satisfactions in the World Cup races is aiming with confidence for the World Cup, is closely followed by the Spanish shooter Fatima Galvez (72/75), former world champion in Lonato first as a junior in 2005, then in the ranks of the senior national team in 2015. Side by side with the Iberian, among the favorites on the eve, always with 72 targets hit and crushed, as well as virtually in the final, there are the Russian Iuliia Saveleva and Yulia Tugolukova, the American Ashley Carroll and the Chinese Weyiun Deng. A little subdued the blue, who just a few days ago, at the European Games in Minsk, had made us dream by occupying the first two squares of the podium. The best of the trio was Jessica Rossi, with 69 hits, followed by Silvana Stanco (68/75) and Maria Lucia Palmitessa (63/75). Difficult recovery, not impossible, but in the remaining 50 targets any mistake will risk becoming fatal.
Among the juniors, a great performance by the Brazilian Leonardo Lustoza, born in 2000, with 74 targets shot down on the 75 scheduled. Right behind the Finnish Matias Koivu (73/75) and the Slovak Rene Macek (72/75). The home blue, the Brescia player Lorenzo Ferrari (71/75), also did well, as did his compatriots Edoardo Antonioli (71) and Matteo Marongiu (70). Among the women, the promising Gaia Ragazzini (69/75), born in 2001, had to momentarily surrender to the overwhelming power of the very young Czech Zina Hrdlickova (71/75). The other blue, Sofia Littamè (66/75), is also fourth and in full battle for a place in the final, while Greta Luppi (61/75) will have to fight for everything tomorrow. Among the technological innovations made during this world championship, we note the international debut, after the national tests, of Shooting Data, the new “app” for smartphones entirely made in Italy dedicated to shooters and coaches to analyze performance. More than half, 128 to be precise, the shooters who used it. Finally, as regards live television, the men's and women's trap finals scheduled for tomorrow afternoon will be broadcast, starting at 16.25 pm, on the Eurosport2 channel, as well as on the social channels (Facebook and YouTube) of the ISSF.