Colorado Springs, COÂ -(AmmoLand.com)- In the final World Cup prior to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 11 USA Shooting athletes have made their way to Baku, Azerbaijan for the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup for Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun starting today and running through June 29.
Competition slots for this World Cup were offered to the winners from the Shotgun Spring Selection match in Tillar, Arkansas in May, with the rest of the roster completed by coach selections.
Two 2016 Olympic Team nominees will compete at this last World Cup of the season.Keith Sanderson (Colorado Springs, Colorado), who heads to his third Olympic Games this year, will shoot the Rapid Fire Pistol event on Sunday, looking to build on the silver medal he won at the World Cup in Rio de Janeiro in April. He’ll be joined in that event by Alex Chichkov (Temple Terrace, Florida), who will also shoot Men’s Air Pistol on Saturday.
Josh Richmond (U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit/Hillsgrove, Pennsylvania), who heads to his second Olympic Games in August, won gold in Men’s Double Trap at the World Cup in San Marino earlier this month. He will be the lone U.S. competitor in this event.
Rounding out the athletes in the shotgun events will be Spring Selection winner Ryne Barfield (Poulan, Georgia) and runner-up Seth Inman (USAMU/Lexington, Missouri) in Men’s Trap. Fall Selection bronze medalist Ashley Carroll (Solvang, California) will compete in Women’s Trap.
Men’s Skeet will bring the largest contingent to Azerbaijan with Spring Selection winner Mark Staffen (USAMU/Lewis Center, Ohio), Fall Selection silver medalist Hayden Stewart (USAMU/Columbia, Tennessee) and Fall and Spring Selection bronze medalist Phillip Jungman (Caldwell, Texas). Jungman will make his World Cup debut in the Open division at this World Cup. Jungman won silver last year in the Junior division at the Shotgun World Championships in Lonato, Italy.
Look for strong performances from Women’s Skeet competitors Amber English (Colorado Springs, Colorado) and Caitlin Connor (Winnfield, Louisiana). English finished in second place at Fall Selection, as well as fourth place at the World Cup in April in Rio. Connor won silver at last year’s Shotgun World Championships in Lonato, Italy.
More than 640 athletes from 80 countries will compete in the 15 events at this World Cup. Follow results and watch live streams of Finals on the ISSF website.
ISSF World Cup Finals Schedule (Only events with U.S. athletes competing are listed)
Baku, Azerbaijan is eight hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone. Times are listed in EDT.
Wednesday, June 22nd:
- Trap Women at 9:30 AM
Thursday, June 23rd:
- Trap Men at 7:00 AM
Saturday, June 25th:
- 10m Air Pistol Men at 3:30 AM
- Double Trap Men at 8:15 AM
Sunday, June 26th:
- 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men at 6:00 AM
Monday, June 27th:
- Skeet Women at 9:45 AM
Tuesday, June 28th:
- Skeet Men at 7:45 AM
About USA Shooting:
USA Shooting, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, was chartered by the United States Olympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the sport of shooting in April 1995. USA Shooting’s mission is to prepare American athletes to win Olympic medals, promote the shooting sports throughout the U.S. and govern the conduct of international shooting in the country.
Check us out on the web at usashooting.org and on Twitter at twitter.com/USAShooting.