Italians came together to sing Il Canto degli Italiani at the ISSF World Cup in Lonato as the legendary Giovanni Pellielo claimed gold in the men's trap final at the age of 55.
A four-time Olympic medallist and four-time world champion, his victory was popular at the Trap Concaverde shooting range. In the women's trap final, Laetisha Scanlan won her first World Cup gold in two years.
Men's Trap
Giovanni Pellielo can be considered the athlete for which the yardstick is used. He first competed at the Olympic Games in 1992 and won his first world trap title 30 years ago. Such is his longevity, he has won the ISSF World Cup Final on seven occasions, with six silver and two bronze medals.
Despite this, he had not won an ISSF World Cup event since 2009 in Minsk - until today.
His opening half was strong, scoring 23 from a possible 25 and trailing his teammate Mauro de Filippis and Great Britain's Olympic bronze medallist Matthew Coward-Holley by one. Pellielo had missed two targets from his first seven shots, but then would go on to successfully score 43 times consecutively.
Coward-Holley would fall level with him after target 28, while De Filippis lost ground with the pair, finishing in third place. The difference in the end came down to the second-to-last series, where the Briton missed twice, giving the Italian breathing room into the final five shots. He finished with a total of 48 to Coward-Holley's 46. It became Pellielo's third ISSF World Cup gold medal in Lonato.
De Filippis was far ahead of the rest of the field for bronze - with American Walton Eller placing fourth ahead of Abdelaziz Mehelba of Egypt and a third Italian, Massimo Fabbrizi in sixth.
Following his victory, Pellielo said: "It is very special to win in Italy. My life of shooting started at this range and now continues here. It has been a special day because the team is so strong. I am very honoured to be a part of this team."
A four-time Olympic medallist and four-time world champion, his victory was popular at the Trap Concaverde shooting range. In the women's trap final, Laetisha Scanlan won her first World Cup gold in two years.
Men's Trap
Giovanni Pellielo can be considered the athlete for which the yardstick is used. He first competed at the Olympic Games in 1992 and won his first world trap title 30 years ago. Such is his longevity, he has won the ISSF World Cup Final on seven occasions, with six silver and two bronze medals.
Despite this, he had not won an ISSF World Cup event since 2009 in Minsk - until today.
His opening half was strong, scoring 23 from a possible 25 and trailing his teammate Mauro de Filippis and Great Britain's Olympic bronze medallist Matthew Coward-Holley by one. Pellielo had missed two targets from his first seven shots, but then would go on to successfully score 43 times consecutively.
Coward-Holley would fall level with him after target 28, while De Filippis lost ground with the pair, finishing in third place. The difference in the end came down to the second-to-last series, where the Briton missed twice, giving the Italian breathing room into the final five shots. He finished with a total of 48 to Coward-Holley's 46. It became Pellielo's third ISSF World Cup gold medal in Lonato.
De Filippis was far ahead of the rest of the field for bronze - with American Walton Eller placing fourth ahead of Abdelaziz Mehelba of Egypt and a third Italian, Massimo Fabbrizi in sixth.
Following his victory, Pellielo said: "It is very special to win in Italy. My life of shooting started at this range and now continues here. It has been a special day because the team is so strong. I am very honoured to be a part of this team."
Laetisha Scanlan claimed her fourth individual ISSF World Cup goldWomen's Trap
It was a welcome return to form for Australia's Laetisha Scanlan, who won her fourth ISSF World Cup gold medal two years on from her last one. Fittingly, this last one was also at Trap Concaverde.
This time she came out on top against Olympic silver medallist Silvana Stanco, who was hoping to triumph in her home country of Italy. It was a field of experience, peppered with two rising stars - AIN athlete Lada Denisova and India's Neeru Neeru were in the final alongside San Marino's first-ever Olympic medallist, Alessandra Perilli and American Rachel Tozier.
For Denisova, she was seeking her second gold medal, after the 22-year-old stood on the top of the podium for the first time in Nicosia. Meanwhile, Stanco was seeking a second win of the season too after her victory in Lima.
Tozier was the first to be eliminated, losing out to Perilli on seeding, who would then exit in fifth. Denisova was marginally ahead and managed to make the podium again, pulling ahead of Neeru when it mattered.
Meanwhile at the front, it was a two-horse race between Scanlan and Stanco. Scanlan had a fantastic opening half, scoring 24 from 25 targets compared to the Italian's 22. With 10 targets to go, the Australian now had a lead of three and managed to hold it together for the victory. Scanlan scored 45 to Stanco's 43.
Following her win, Scanlan professed her love for the host nation and venue: "I love this range, I always love coming here whether I shoot good or bad and that's contributed to the win today. I think there was a lot of disappointment not making the Olympic Games [at Paris 2024] so coming into 2025 I wanted to cement myself and show that I still can do it and this is the icing on the cake."
Information and results from the ISSF World Cup in Lonato can be found here.
It was a welcome return to form for Australia's Laetisha Scanlan, who won her fourth ISSF World Cup gold medal two years on from her last one. Fittingly, this last one was also at Trap Concaverde.
This time she came out on top against Olympic silver medallist Silvana Stanco, who was hoping to triumph in her home country of Italy. It was a field of experience, peppered with two rising stars - AIN athlete Lada Denisova and India's Neeru Neeru were in the final alongside San Marino's first-ever Olympic medallist, Alessandra Perilli and American Rachel Tozier.
For Denisova, she was seeking her second gold medal, after the 22-year-old stood on the top of the podium for the first time in Nicosia. Meanwhile, Stanco was seeking a second win of the season too after her victory in Lima.
Tozier was the first to be eliminated, losing out to Perilli on seeding, who would then exit in fifth. Denisova was marginally ahead and managed to make the podium again, pulling ahead of Neeru when it mattered.
Meanwhile at the front, it was a two-horse race between Scanlan and Stanco. Scanlan had a fantastic opening half, scoring 24 from 25 targets compared to the Italian's 22. With 10 targets to go, the Australian now had a lead of three and managed to hold it together for the victory. Scanlan scored 45 to Stanco's 43.
Following her win, Scanlan professed her love for the host nation and venue: "I love this range, I always love coming here whether I shoot good or bad and that's contributed to the win today. I think there was a lot of disappointment not making the Olympic Games [at Paris 2024] so coming into 2025 I wanted to cement myself and show that I still can do it and this is the icing on the cake."
Information and results from the ISSF World Cup in Lonato can be found here.