WDSC 2016: all-russian podium in women's 50m rifle prone

The second competition day of the World Deaf Shooting Championships came to an end at the Dynamo Sports Complex in Kazan.

Up to 70 athletes compete at the tournament. The women’s events were contested in the second half of the day.

In the women’s 50m rifle prone event, the entire podium was occupied by the deaf shooters from Russia. Yulia CHURSINA (RUS) claimed the top spot on the podium, scoring 207.0. She set the world record in this event, which became the third best result displayed at the tournament in Kazan during two competition days. Irina BORISOVA (RUS) placed second with 206.4. Daria BULAVINA settled for bronze (186.0).

After the final, Yulia Chursina shared her impression of the tournament, which is held for the first time in its history and, what is more, on home soil. “At each competition I try to show everything I’m capable of, should it be national championships, world championships or European championships. I’m not obsessed with winning a title or a medal. First of all, I think about my shooting, my training. To keep my emotions at bay, I do my best to detach myself from a tournament’s atmosphere, competition, spectators. I picture that I’m during one of my training sessions and I simply want to show my best result. And I’m happy that I succeeded. Thank you, Kazan,” the gold medallist said.

Commenting on the all-Russian podium, Yulia Chursina stated: “I have considerable experience, I’ve competed at many tournaments, I’ve been doing shooting for a while now whereas my teammates are young. That’s why it’s easy for me to perform here, although I try to support my young fellow athletes. Making it to the top ten is a good result in our sport, but surely, medal spots are better. I’m happy for myself and for the girls.” 

“I compete since 2007 but I fell in love with shooting much earlier. It’s not just a hobby or occupation, shooting is my life,” the winner said. She also highly praised the level of event management in Kazan: “I like the city very much. Kazan has won my heart; thank you all very much.”

Bronze medallist, Daria Bulavina, admitted that she was very nervous before the tournament in Kazan: “I was very excited and anxious; I felt nervous. During the qualification, during training sessions, I made some mistakes. But here, in the final, I pulled myself together and here I am, standing with a medal and diploma in my hands. Bronze is here, in my hands. I’m extremely happy.” 

“I’m very pleased. I gave it my all and did everything I could. As for the girls, Ira and Yulya, I’m sincerely happy for them. My congrats to them. We did it. The entire podium is ours,” she said. The bronze medallist gave the thumbs-up to the organisers’ efforts in the delivery of the tournament in Kazan. “It’s much better here than at other competitions. And believe me, I’ve been at quite a few tournaments both in Europe and throughout the world. It’s awesome here!” she said.

“I’ve been training for a long time and I did well. I liked it, started to win one event after another, passed qualification and here I am. I’m overwhelmed with emotions; I’m still not quite aware that I won bronze. I’ve been steady in my purpose; my results improved year by year that’s why I’m confident that it’s not my limit,” Daria conluded.