Air rifle duo misses bronze
German shooters lose battle for first medal
27.07.2024, 11:57 a.m.
It would have been the first medal for the German Olympic team. The German air rifle duo competed in the small final against Kazakhstan and failed. Even because of themselves: “We are our biggest opponent,” the national coach had said before, full of confidence.
The shooting duo Anna Janßen and Maximilian Ulbrich were not able to bring the German team their first medal at the Olympic Games in Paris, as they had hoped. Both had to settle for a disappointing fourth place in the mixed team competition with the air rifle. In the small final, the 22-year-old from Freising and her one-year-older teammate from Wilzhofen lost to Kazakhstan 5:17.
Gold in the competition was won by Sheng Lihao and Huang Yuting from China, who beat South Koreans Keum Jihyeon and Park Hayun in the final.
Before the bronze medal match against Alexandra Le and Islam Satpajew, national coach Achim Veelmann had confidently declared: “We are our biggest opponent. If we have ourselves under control, anything is possible.” But then things didn’t go well. After a mediocre start with a deficit, the duo equalized to 3:3 thanks to a 10.9 from Janßen. But then Kazakhstan pulled away from 4:4 to 10:4 and later 15:5. Satpajew in particular shot an incredible series.
The fight for a place in the final rounds was a dramatic affair for the Olympic debutants. In the elimination round, the German duo scored 629.7 rings, just ahead of Norway (629.6), also because Ulbrich shot a 10.8 in the last attempt and thus made it to the small final. But their hopes of bronze were not fulfilled there.