Four Olympic medals, eleven world titles (four individual), twelve European titles (three individual) and now also the tenth national title. The Italian champion in the 2017 Olympic pit for the Excellence category certainly needs no introduction. He is Giovanni "Johnny" Pellielo, authentic living medal collection. Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 September, from the shooting lines of Trap Concaverde of Lonato del Garda, the standard bearer of the blue flames has asserted his caliber since the first day of competition, which closed with full points with the score of 75/75. Then, in the decisive challenge for the Scudetto, King Johnny (122 + 44) got the better of two targets on an excellent Mauro De Filippis (123 + 42). Third place for the reigning world champion Daniel Resca (120 + 32). So, at the foot of the podium: Valerio Grazini (122 + 27), Simone Prosperi (120 + 22) e Claudio Tosto (123 + 17), the latter in his first final for the tricolor. «Winning the Italian title is never taken for granted - said Pellielo immediately after the victory - we are the most noble nation in the world and the opponents are always of the highest level. And it is always as if it were the first time - he continued - It is a unique emotion, made even more special because it is experienced in what is the temple of world skeet shooting. We hope there are still many others ». There will certainly be.
Moving on to the other side of the shooting sky, among the Ladies the best was Alessia Montanino (69 + 39), who preceded the friend and colleague Maria Lucia Palmitessa (68 + 38). Bronze medal, on the other hand, for Federico Caporuscio (69 + 31), arrived in front of Giulia Pintor (67 + 27), Alessia Lezzi (69 + 19) e Valeria Raphael (69 + 13). "It was a beautiful victory, obtained in a last-sided competition with my best friend and therefore even more precious - said the bearer of the gold flames - I managed to keep myself constant in the scores and this, in the end, rewarded me. . I'm so happy". Finally, the excellent performances of the juniors should be noted. The championships in this category were aimed at the chest Lorenzo Buratta (117 + 44) ed Erica Sessa (66 + 42).
«It was an Italian championship of the highest level - he said at the end of the races Albano Pera, Coach of the national team of the Olympic pit - of which I can only be proud and satisfied. My warmest congratulations go to those who conquered the podium, but very good were also those who stopped a step away from the final, with ten shooters at 119 and eight at 118. This shows how much the level of our athletes are elevated. It is no coincidence that we come back from a world championship where we won 5 golds, 2 silvers and 2 bronzes. These results do not come by chance, but are the result of a lot of work and a lot of sacrifice ».
«We thank the staff of the Trap Concaverde for the immense professionalism with which he carries out his work on every occasion - continued the national councilor Fitav Florence DeRosa - The season is now coming to an end, with excellent results as regards the specialty of trap and all skeet shooting. Soon we will be able to rest a little, but not too much, because the goal is to do even better in the future ».
«Having the opportunity to conclude the competitive season with the final of the Italian championship honors and gratifies us. What we are trying to do - he concluded Ivan Carella, president of Trap Concaverde - is to give the right value to our sport. The continuous improvement of sports facilities and attention to those who attend them is a necessary effort, which all managers must make, because this is what those who practice it with ever greater dedication and passion deserve ».
FINAL ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP EXCELLENCE, JUNIOR, LADIES and JUNIOR LADIES
EXCELLENCE RANKING: 1) Giovanni Pellielo (122 + 44); 2) Mauro De Filippis (123 + 42); 3) Daniele Resca (120 + 32); 4) Valerio Grazini (122 + 27); 5) Simone Prosperi (120 + 22); 6) Claudio Tosto (123 + 17)
LADIES RANKING: 1) Alessia Montanino (69 + 39); 2) Maria Lucia Palmitessa (68 + 38); 3) Federica Caporuscio (69 + 31); 4) Giulia Pintor (67 + 27); 5) Alessia Iezzi (69 + 19); 6) Valeria Raffaelli (69 + 13)
JUNIOR RANKING: 1) Lorenzo Buratta (117 + 44); 2) Nicholas Antonini (118 + 43); 3) Daniele Flammini (117 + 33); 4) Teo Petroni (120 + 28); 5) Andrea L. Pattarello (117 + 23); 6) Davide Rosicarelli (118 + 15)
JUNIOR LADIES RANKING: 1) Erica Sessa (66 + 42); 2) Diana Ghilarducci (62 + 36); 3) Alessandra Della Valle (67 + 26); 4) Marianna Matassa (66 + 24); 5) Greta Luppi (64 + 20); 6) Carolina Paganin (63 + 15)