At the ISSF World Cup 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Australian shooter James Willett clinched the gold medal in the men’s trap shooting event, while Penny Smith had to settle for silver in the women’s competition on Sunday. Willett, a two-time Olympian and previous gold medal winner at the World Championships, finished fifth in the qualifiers with a score of 121, securing a spot in the six-man finals. Despite a slow start in the medal round, Willet delivered an incredible performance to claim the top spot on the podium with a score of 46, missing just one shot out of 30 in the last six series. This victory marked Willet’s first individual gold at the ISSF World Cup since Acapulco 2019, with Slovakia’s Filip Marinov and Jean Pierre Brol Cardenas of Guatemala taking the silver and bronze medals respectively.
On the other hand, Penny Smith, a 29-year-old shooter who placed sixth in women’s trap at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, began her campaign in Baku by coming out on top in the qualifiers with an impressive score of 116. Smith started strong but a hiccup in