ISSF World Cup Changwon: Scherer Wins Gold & Quota!

Sarah Scherer (center) proudly displays her gold medal victory in Women's 10m Air Rifle.

In a near-perfect performance, Sarah Scherer (Fort Worth, Texas) claimed the gold medal in Women’s 10m Air Rifle at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Korea.  Scherer shot 398 qualification points and was tied with Poland’s Agnieska Nagay entering the final.  Against the 30-year-old and two-time Olympian, Scherer’s confidence and hold didn’t falter.  She shot the highest final of 103.5 points in her first ISSF World Cup final round.  Scherer, a sophomore at Texas Christian University (TCU), finished the match with 501.5 total points, winning by one point.  National Rifle Coach Major Dave Johnson said, “Sarah was a focused machine.  I was impressed with her control and determination to stay with the things she knew she had to focus on to be successful.  Congratulations to her and TCU Coach Karen Monez!”

Interview with Sarah Scherer:

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzME4k3FsQU

Not only is this a huge accomplishment for Scherer, she also brings home a much-needed 2012 Olympic quota for Women’s 10m Air Rifle.  In an ISSF interview, Scherer said, “It has been my first time in a final, and it was a bit intimidating to shoot shoulder to shoulder with these experienced athletes.  But I have been training hard to get here, so I was quite confident.  It feels great to win a quota place for my country.”

Nagay finished with 500.5 total points (398+102.5) for the silver medal and quota place for Poland.  She was followed by Serbia’s Ivana Maksimovic with 499.4 total points (397+102.4), who won her first ever ISSF medal -the bronze.

USA Shooting Team’s Meghann K. Morrill (Boerne, Texas) shot 396 qualification points and entered an eight-way shoot-off for one of three spots in the final.  In five shots, Morrill tallied 50.1 points to finish in tenth place. Teammate Emily Caruso (Fairfield, Conn.) finished in the middle of the field with 393 points.

For complete scores, pictures and upcoming events, check the ISSF Website.