For a long time, Nadine Ungerank was sensationally on course for the Olympic podium on Friday. Only in the finish did the Tyrolean sports shooter slip from the bronze position back to fifth place.
Austria’s team must continue to wait for the second medal after the Judo bronze won by Michaela Polleres at the Summer Olympics in Paris. Shooter Nadine Ungerank finished Friday’s small-bore three-position match with the rifle in an excellent but ultimately unrewarded fifth place. The 28-year-old Tyrolean was on medal course in the first third, even tying for first place after 15 out of 45 shots.
After lying in fifth place after 30 shots, Ungerank improved to fourth place in the first five-series standing shot, just one ring behind silver. After 40 shots, Ungerank was in third place, five shots before the gold decision. However, a 9.0 on the 42nd shot in the direct knockout (the lowest score eliminated) meant the end for the Zillertal native in the fight for medals.
Mixed Feelings
Ungerank’s feelings afterward were “a bit mixed – I am extremely happy that I was competitive,” she said in a conversation with APA. “I am totally satisfied with the performance – landing in the good midfield of the top eight is quite good, I must say.” The conditions in the final were difficult. “In the end, it really got hot in the hall.”
Gold went to Switzerland’s Chiara Leone ahead of American Sagen Maddalena, while the bronze was won by China’s Zhang Qiongyue. “Chiara is a tremendous shooter,” Ungerank paid tribute to the winner, whom she knows well, who also shot an Olympic record. “It’s really beautiful, and you are even happier when everything works out for them.” (APA)