GB Shooting

[Cinnamon Bun 896]

35 minutes ago, Rafa Maciel said:

However he does have a nasty tendency of under performing when it really matters though - I don't think he's really been close to securing a quota in the qualifying events to date.

This time feels different though. He had a good result the week before a qualification event, something which he hasn't had throughout the period. Furthermore, the fact he got quite a bit of insurance with 1 of 5 athletes (3 French and 2 Italian) qualifying here also giving him an Olympic quota. Either way even if he doesn't get through this, I'm personally not too sure he will, I still reckon one of the French or non qualified Italian athletes will get through as they've been showing some good form as of late in quali events. 

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

A 22 opening round for Ben Llwellin and in a tie for 63rd. Karl Killander and Mitchell Brooker-Smith are among 17 athletes with clear rounds.

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

Not looking great for Llewellin - he's had 3 steady rounds but the 22 in round 1 has been really damaging. On the upside, we could have 2 finalists with Killander and Brooker-Smith both sitting inside the top 7. Hopefully they can have another clean round tomorrow and confirm their places in the final.

 

BUT of the top 7, only 1 athlete is ineligible for the quota - so basically would mean they would need to win the event to get the spot in Paris. 

[mpjmcevoy 362]

27 minutes ago, Rafa Maciel said:

Not looking great for Llewellin - he's had 3 steady rounds but the 22 in round 1 has been really damaging. On the upside, we could have 2 finalists with Killander and Brooker-Smith both sitting inside the top 7. Hopefully they can have another clean round tomorrow and confirm their places in the final.

 

BUT of the top 7, only 1 athlete is ineligible for the quota - so basically would mean they would need to win the event to get the spot in Paris. 

I'd argue the poor performances from the French and italians is worse for Llewellin than his own dodgy form - you'd take the current GBR position in a swap, as the two 'top Brits'have clearly come into some form just at the right moment, but the complete absence of France and Italy is almost more damaging to Llewllin. One suspects GBR now have a puncher's chance, but Llewllin perosnally looks screwed.

[Nickyc707 382]

10 hours ago, mpjmcevoy said:

I'd argue the poor performances from the French and italians is worse for Llewellin than his own dodgy form - you'd take the current GBR position in a swap, as the two 'top Brits'have clearly come into some form just at the right moment, but the complete absence of France and Italy is almost more damaging to Llewllin. One suspects GBR now have a puncher's chance, but Llewllin perosnally looks screwed.

In fairness the Italians are not shooting badly as they lie second behind GB in the team event. The problem is they have been too consistent with all three scoring 96. A couple of 97s and a 94 would have been much more helpful to the British cause.

[Epic Failure 355]

well, to use the vernacular of the youth of my day, that all went Pete Tong....

[Cinnamon Bun 896]

21 minutes ago, Epic Failure said:

well, to use the vernacular of the youth of my day, that all went Pete Tong....

Once again we never learn from our mistakes and miss out on a quota that should've been a banker. A guaranteed medal in the mixed skeet is now gone. 

[Epic Failure 355]

30 minutes ago, Cinnamon Bun said:

Once again we never learn from our mistakes and miss out on a quota that should've been a banker. A guaranteed medal in the mixed skeet is now gone. 

Shooting - at least from my experience - is one of the more unpredictable of sports with tight margins and very much relies on 'form on the day'. We saw that the other month with Bargeron - the world #83 - getting a spot in the rifle.

 

Is it disappointing? Sure. But I don't agree that it should have been as assured as you say that it should.

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

3 hours ago, Epic Failure said:

Shooting - at least from my experience - is one of the more unpredictable of sports with tight margins and very much relies on 'form on the day'. We saw that the other month with Bargeron - the world #83 - getting a spot in the rifle.

 

Is it disappointing? Sure. But I don't agree that it should have been as assured as you say that it should.

I kind of agree with @Cinnamon Bun - The GB shooting squad was actually one of the bright spots for Team GB last year as we banked quotas early, but they simply weren't able to build on that success through late 2023 and into 2024. Bargeron has been the lone bright spot in an otherwise bleak season for the team when it matters the most.

 

Llewelin is the most frustrating miss of the squad. He is one of the highest ranked athletes in his event, but never really came close to winning a quota at the qualifying events - perhaps his best chance came in 2022 Euros when he finished 3rd. He's been able to clock up decent results at World Cup events which is great but when it really mattered, he was more likely to miss the final. He's not the only British athlete who has been in this position - it's pretty ridiculous that Matthew Coward-Holley only just scraped in through the ranking. 

[Epic Failure 355]

I mean it's definitely frustrating. I'm just not overwhelmingly surprised.

 

I'm just looking at the rankings in the 4 shotgun events. The women's trap is the only one where the top 10 have all qualified. The women's skeet 6, 8 and 9 haven't qualified. Men's trap 6, 7 and 10. Men's skeet 4, 6 and 9. It just seems a sport where relatively high ranking people miss the games quite often.