ISSF World Cup 2024 Baku: Australia’s James Willett wins gold medal in trap

Australian shooter James Willett won the gold medal in men’s trap shooting while Penny Smith had to settle for the silver in the women’s event at the ISSF World Cup 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan on Sunday.

In the men’s trap event, James Willett, a two-time Olympian and mixed trap pairs gold medal winner at the 2019 World Championships, finished fifth in the qualifiers to make the six-man finals. He shot 121 in the qualifying round.

Despite making a slow start in the medal round, Willet stepped up the ante to top the podium with a score of 46. He missed just one shot out of 30 in the last six series.

This was the 28-year-old Willet’s first individual gold at the ISSF World Cup since Acapulco 2019.

Slovakia’s Filip Marinov (42) and Guatemalan shooter Jean Pierre Brol Cardenas (34) completed the podium.

The 29-year-old Penny Smith, who finished sixth in women’s trap at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, began her campaign at Baku by topping the qualifiers, scoring an impressive 116.

Smith also started the six-team final well but a lapse in the fifth series, where she managed to land just two of her five shots, saw her lose her lead and allowed Lebanon’s Bassil Ray, an Olympian and the 2019 Asian champion, to outdo her.

Ray claimed the gold medal, scoring 44 while Smith tallied 40. Erica Sessa of Italy claimed the bronze with 34.

This was Smith’s 11th medal at the ISSF World Cup. Her tally includes six golds, three silvers and two bronze medals.