2023 European Championships 10m: Damir Mikec and Anna Korakaki strike air pistol gold

Serbian shooting ace Damir Mikec hit the jackpot at the 2023 European Championships 10m winning the air pistol gold medal and earning a Paris 2024 Olympic quota in Tallinn, Estonia, on Friday (10 March).

The Olympic silver medallist came from behind in the final duel against Azerbaijan’s Ruslan Lunev to claim the title with 17-13.

Both athletes earned Olympic quotas* for reaching the gold match where they served a good dollop of drama for shooting enthusiasts.

The eight-man final was whittled down to two, with Italy’s Paolo Monna winning the bronze medal, leaving Mikec and Lunev to battle it out for gold.

Lunev threw down the gauntlet outshooting Mikec over the first two rounds before they drew level again at 4-4. But the Azerbaijani shooter again opened a four-point lead which he extended to eight points.

Consistently outshooting the Serbian, Lunev looked set for a runaway victory at 13-5, just three points away from wrapping up the contest.

However, Mikec would have none of it and launched a spectacular comeback to level the scores at 13-13. Mikec landed two more superior shots to claim the victory and the Olympic quota as a bonus prize.

Greek Olympic shooting champion Anna Korakaki was embroiled in a tit-for-tat battle with Camille Jedrzejewski of France.

The gold-medal match went down to the wire, with the French shooter refusing to back down and pushing the contest to the final round. Korakaki prevailed 16-14 to claim the gold medal, while Jedrzejewski earned an Olympic quota and settled for silver. The 20-year-old Jedrzejewski showed nerves of steel against her revered opponent, taking an early four-point lead.

Korakaki eventually caught up before the duo exchanged blows until the last round. With the scores level on 14-14, Korakaki landed the deciding shot to claim the title. Elmira Karapetyan of Armenia walked away with the bronze medal, while the fourth-placed Kristina Moschi of Greece earned the remaining Olympic qualifying spot.

* The top two athletes in each event earn spots for their nation at the next edition of the Olympic Games in Paris, provided the athletes are not from the same country. One nation can only win a single qualification place in each event at one championship.

2023 European Championships 10m schedule including Paris 2024 qualifying finals

All times Eastern European Time / EET (GMT +2 hours), which is the local time in host city Tallinn. Senior finals highlighted in bold.

Saturday 11 March 2023

• 08:45 to 10:20 - Air Pistol Mixed Team - Qualification hall
• 11:15 to 12:30 - Air Rifle Women 1 - Qualification hall
• 13:30 to 14:45 - Air Rifle Men 1 & Women 2 - Qualification hall
• 15:30 to 16:30 - Air Pistol Mixed Team Final - Final Hall
• 15:45 to 17:00 - Air Rifle Men 2 - Qualification hall
• 18:00 to 18:45 - Air Rifle Women Final - Final Hall - Two Paris 2024 Olympic quota berths available
• 19:45 to 20:30 - Air Rifle Men Final - Final Hall - Two Paris 2024 Olympic quota berths available

Sunday 12 March 2023

• 08:45 to 10:00 - Air Pistol Men Team - Qualification hall
• 10:30 to 11:45 - Air Pistol Women Team - Qualification hall
• 12:15 to 13:30 - Air Rifle Men Team - Qualification hall
• 13:00 to 14:00 - Air Pistol Men Team Final - Final Hall.
• 14:00 to 14:15 - Air Rifle Women Team - Qualification hall
• 15:00 to 16:00 - Air Pistol Women Team Final - Final Hall.
• 17:00 to 18:00 - Air Rifle Men Team Final - Final Hall.
• 19:00 to 20:00 - Air Rifle Women Team Final - Final Hall.
• Closing speech

A full schedule is available on the European Shooting Confederation (ESC) website.

How to watch the 2023 European Championships 10m and Olympic Qualifiers in rifle and pistol shooting

Action will be broadcast on the ISSF website and via the ISSF YouTube channel with live streaming available in some regions.