Korakaki fends off Karsch for 25m pistol gold

Greece’s Anna Korakaki holds off Germany’s Monika Karsch to win the gold medal in women’s 25m pistol.

In an epic gold medal showdown, 20-year-old Korakaki won the first three rounds to go up 6-0, but the 33-year-old German shooter clawed back to win the next three rounds to tie it up.

In the final round, Karsch missed two of her first three but Korakaki missed her fourth shot, putting immense pressure on herself to hit the final shot for gold or risk a tie. Korakaki nailed it, and jumped up to celebrate.

This is the second medal of Rio for the Greek Olympic debutant, as she earned bronze in the 10m air pistol event. These are the only two medals Greece has claimed thus far.

For Karsch, this is her first major international medal, and it is Germany’s second ever medal in the event. Munkhbayar Dorjsuren won bronze in the 2008 Beijing Games.

The bronze medal match featured China’s Zhang Jingjing, the 27-year-old world #1 rated 25m pistol shooter, and Switzlerland’s Heidi Diethelm Gerber, the 47-year old world #7 shooter in the discipline.

Jingjing, who set an Olympic record in qualifications, jumped out to the early lead on the first five shots, but subsequently relinquished it to Gerber who never looked back on her way to the bronze.

Gerber, who finished 29th in the event in the 2012 London Games, kept enough composure to finish off Jingjing, who looked strong but soon lost her form in the middle rounds of the semifinal.

The final results are as follows:
1.    Anna Korakaki (Greece)
2.    Monika Karsch (Germany)
3.    Heidi Diethelm Gerber (Switzerland)
4.    Zhang Jingjing (China)
5.    Ekaterina Korshunova (Russia)
6.    Nino Salukvadze (Georgia)
7.    Jo Yong-suk (North Korea)
8.    Antoaneta Boneva (Bulgaria)