Bartekova wins world skeet title shoot-off and obtains Olympic quota for Slovakia, with Chile, Greece, and Turkiye also bagging Paris 2024 berths
Bartekova, Francisca Crovetto, Emmanouela Katzouraki, and Sena Can earned Olympic shotgun spots for their federations through the 2023 ISSF World Championships in Baku.
Shooting
London 2012 bronze medallist Danka Bartekova celebrated a double triumph in women's skeet at the 2023 ISSF World Championships in Baku on Friday (18 August), winning her first shotgun world title and also securing an Olympic quota for Slovakia to compete at Paris 2024.
The 10-time world medallist broke through in dramatic fashion with gold 18 years after winning her first world medal. A tense shoot-off determined the winner in Azerbaijan, with only one shot separating Bartekova from USA's Dania Jo Vizzi.
“It’s a dream come true. For me, this year I’m struggling a little bit. Last year I was one behind the quota at the European Championships. It was this close. At the world championships last year it was again this close so I was nervous," Bartekova said in a post-competition interview. "For me it’s a dream day. I’m really excited about how it ended and I have to say, it took me 25 years to get this title so yes, finally, it’s done."
A total of four Olympic quotas were handed out for Paris via the women's skeet event at the 2023 ISSF World Championships.
In addition to Bartekova winning a spot for Slovakia, by reaching the final, three-time Olympian Francisca Crovetto obtained a quota for Chile and while Greece's Emmanouela Katzouraki sealed a spot for her National Olympic Committee (NOC) to send a shooter to Paris 2024.
Turkiye's Sena Can also earned a quota for her NOC through her qualification performance.
The ISSF World Championships in Baku are a direct qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympics, with a total of 48 qualification berths on offer.
As National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the 2024 Olympic Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
Bartekova's golden day
USA's Vizzi shot perfectly until the 20th target in contrast to Bartekova who had missed two by target 15 and was tied for last place with three shooters in the early stages of the final.
But as the competition progressed, the Slovakian skeet veteran regained her momentum and shot almost cleanly to tie Vizzi at 54 targets and force the competition into a shoot-off.
With both athletes firing cleanly in the shoot-off, it was Vizzi who ultimately faultered on the 11th target to hand Bartekova her first world title.
“It was basically all about concentrating on my targets and just keeping up the speed," Bartekova said. "Sometimes I had to change something, the rhythm, because the targets were not easy. It was a little bit windy, small breeze, which made the targets fly strangely, so it was all about the focus on what I have to do.
“I was so excited after the shoot-off and after the final because I had a struggle. There were really some targets where I struggled and at the end of the day it was so nerve-racking that I’m really happy that it ended well for me," she added.
Katzouraki took the bronze with 43 targets hit.