WDSC 2016: new world record established on day 4
The fourth competition day of the World Deaf Shooting Championships kicked off with a dramatic final. In the men’s 10m air rifle event, two favourites – renowned shooter Thomas MÖSCHING (SUI) and Colin MUELLER (GER), who had earlier won gold in the men’s 50m rifle prone event, – failed to show their best performance and couldn’t compete for gold.
Somewhat unexpectedly, the victory was claimed by Oleksandr KOSTYK (UKR). His final result – 205.6 points – became a new world record. A tough struggle unfolded in the second and third place matches. Much to spectators’ surprise, Colin MUELLER made bad shots and finished only sixth. Roman PUSTOVOYTENKO (RUS) missed out on the podium by the smallest possible margin. As a result, silver went to Sebastian HERRMANY (GER) who scored 197.4 and bronze was claimed by Thomas MÖSCHING (178.5).
Newly crowned world champion and holder of the new world record, Oleksandr Kostyk admitted that his recipe for success was self-belief, finished technique and proper training process. “We had drastically better weather today; definitely, it was easier to shoot. Last year I won the European championships so I know what it takes to earn a victory,” Kostyk said. “I had a mild headache but it didn’t prevent me from winning.”
The Ukrainian athlete stated that there’s a huge competition in the men’s 50m rifle prone event. “And again I was about to face off with Thomas; I was nervous but the main thing for me was to show a good result. I thought that if I do that no one will be able to keep me from winning. It’s quite a pleasure to beat shooting legends; the competition makes us stronger – and a world record is an expected result,” the champion said. “Our coaches focus on final events, on indoor shooting, since they believe that we will be able to qualify for a final. We also considerably focus on psychological preparation; we need to be self-confident and believe in our abilities. Surely, one should always avoid any sense of self-importance; if you’ve trained and prepared hard, you can be confident that you are ready to win. Right before a competition, I picture a bullseye in my mind and try to hit it; it happens all the time but it never disturbs me, on the contrary, it helps me to focus.”
Olesandr Kostyk admitted that he enjoyed yesterday’s sightseeing tour of Kazan. “They showed us the Kazan Kremlin and other sights. I was deeply moved by the story of poet and war hero Musa Jalil, the story of courage and patriotism. We wanted to see the famous Maobit Notebook but it is exhibited only twice a year. We liked very much the Qul-Sharif Mosque, which if one of the beautiful ones in the world, Syuyumbike Tower, Old Tatar Settlement. We are from a Christian country and it’s very interesting for us to embrace the Muslim world, to experience a new culture. Our team congratulates all citizens of Tatarstan on Kurban Bayram!” he said. The Ukrainian shooter also added that he’s impressed with the level of event management in Kazan. “It’s a pleasure to see that the Tatarstan authorities give such a huge, top-level support to the world championships. The tournament is staged to a high standard; we can see its grandeur. Huge thanks to the organisers. They impressed us from the outset and set a special atmosphere starting with the opening ceremony. The Tatarstan President attended the event and later invited us to his residence; we were very pleased,” he admitted.
Speaking of his future plans, Oleksandr said that he intends to compete in one more event: “I want to try my hand in it; we’ll see what will come of it. In any case I already have the trophy that I will take home. After the championships, I will have a short recovery period and then begin new hard training sessions ahead of the Deaflympics.”
According to Thomas Mösching, he was disappointed that he failed to show everything he was capable of. “But I’m happy that in the end I managed to pull myself together and to make it to the podium. I’m an experienced athlete and I’ve competed at quite a few tournaments. I’m scrupulous about my training process and this is my recipe for success. Surely, gold would have been a better option but the Deaflympics in Turkey are more important so I will be preparing for them,” the athlete said.
Germany’s Sebastian Herrmany was pleased with his result but he had little time for a post-final interview: “I can answer a few questions but really quickly. I need to go to doping control. Deaflympic sports are under a lot of scrutiny these days but we are open to any tests; we have nothing to hide. I’m happy with silver; it’s our common success. I want to thank the organisers; the tournament is organised to a very high standard. I hope that it will be held in the future.”