Australian shooter Laetisha Scanlan has fallen one target short of a medal, finishing fourth in the Tokyo Olympics women’s trap competition.
Scanlan and fellow Victorian Penny Smith qualified for Thursday’s six-shooter final, having been picked for these Games ahead of Rio 2016 champion Catherine Skinner after a competitive selection process.
Smith’s score of 13/25 meant she was the first competitor eliminated in the medal-deciding contest at Asaka range.
Italian Silvana Stanco was the next to go, then Scanlan was ousted in heartbreaking fashion, missing her final target to finish level with Alessandra Perilli on 26/35.
Perilli’s higher ranking in qualification meant she advanced to the next stage of the shootout, claiming bronze and San Marino’s first-ever Olympic medal.
Slovak sharpshooter Zuzana Rehak-Stefecekova, who carried her nation’s flag in the opening ceremony then brought down a world-record 125 targets in qualifying, won gold ahead of the United States’ Kayle Browning.
Scanlan’s near miss comes five years after she finished fifth in the Rio Olympics, having topped qualifying on that occasion then watched on as Skinner secured one of Australia’s eight gold medals at the 2016 Games.
James Willett and Tom Grice, seeking to follow in compatriot Michael Diamond’s footsteps, failed to reach the men’s trap final after finishing 21st and 25th respectively.
Willett, Grice, Scanlan and Smith will return to the range on Saturday, when they loom as medal contenders in the mixed team event.
AAP
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