Roberto Méndez
Cuban London 2012 Olympic Champion,
Leuris Pupo, and his compatriot, Eglys de la Cruz,
Beijing 2008 bronze medalist, both won Singles
titles in the Sixth Americas Cup, in Guadalajara,
México, contributing to Cuba’s male and female team
victories.
Another
impressive performance
by Leuris Pupo won him gold in the
continental competition.
In the third of six rounds of the
men’s 25 meter rapid fire pistol, Leuris Pupo from
Holguin gained 292 points; finally taking first
place with a total of 583, having achieved 291 at
the Club Cinegético in Jalisco to lead the
qualifying stage.
He triumphed in the final eight
series with 29 clean shots in 10 rounds (he reached
34 in London 2012), relegating U.S. competitors
Keith Sanderson (27) and Alexander Chichkov (21) to
second and third place, respectively.
However, Pupo will have to try to
qualify for the Rio Olympics during another
tournament, as his result in this competition wasn’t
sufficient.
According to the official event
webpage, the other Cuban finalist, Jorge Félix
Álvarez finished fourth with 17 shots.
Pupo with his 583 accumulated points,
in addition to Álvarez’s 567 and Juan Francisco
Pérez’s 562, put Cuba in first place on the medal
chart with 1,712, followed by the United States
(1,691) and Brazil (1,661).
Cuban shooter Eglis
Cruz won gold in the Sixth America’s Cup held in
Guadalajara, México, also classifying for the Rio de
Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.
Eglys, who had already won the
women’s 10 meter air rifle event and with it a
ticket to the Río de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games, put
on another impressive performance in the 50 meter
rifle three-position, securing 583 points (194
kneeling – 194 crouching and 195 standing) in the
qualifying round and finally winning gold in the
overall event.
In the battle for gold, Eglys and
her compañera Dianelys Pérez (581) both put up a
strong fight, achieving scores far greater than
those of their rivals over the 10 rounds to secure
first and second place.
U.S. shooter Amanda Furrer (435.9)
won bronze superseding her teammate Amy Sowash
(425.1) with Cuban, Linet Aguiar (413.5), in fifth
place.
Eglys, Dianelys (581) and Aguiar’s
scores also contributed to the overall women’s team
result (1,740) – a continental record, breaking the
target of 1,732 set by their U.S. competitors Furrer,
Sowash and Emily Holsopple, a little over a month
ago in the World Championships in Granada, Spain,
who this time took second place with 1,736; followed
by Mexico in third with 1,687. (Excerpts from JIT)
