Three years ago in Tokyo, Natascha Hiltrop won gold, but now she surprisingly missed the final in the 10-meter air rifle mixed competition at the Paralympics in Paris. In the qualification for the R3 performance class, she only scored 633.6 points and was surprisingly eliminated in ninth place.
Hiltrop started weakly with 104.8 rings in the first series and found herself in the last third of the field. In the second series, the gold medalist from Tokyo was able to improve and achieved the second best series of the competition with 106.3 rings.
Hiltrop is out – but can still dream of a medal
Then in the third series, it was only enough for 104.6 rings, the worst series for Hiltrop up to that point. With 106.6 rings, Hiltrop brought itself back within reach of the qualification places. 104.8 rings in series five and 106.5 rings in series six were only enough for the disappointing ninth place. Only the first eight participants qualified for the final.
Hiltrop still has two more chances to fulfill her medal dream. She competed in two more air rifle competitions in Paris. On Tuesday (01.09.24) she will compete in class R8 (air rifle, 50 m, three-position shooting), and on Thursday (05.09.24) in class R6 (air rifle, 50 m, prone).
Liestmann also just watches in the final
The second German starter in the air rifle mix also missed the final. Tjark Liestmann reached 13th place in his Paralympics debut. He scored 632.5 points at the Chateauroux Shooting Center.
Möbius also not in the final
Moritz Möbius is also out after qualifying in class R5 (air rifle, 10 m, prone). Möbius shot 628.9 rings. This meant 31st place in the end. Only the first eight shooters reach the final. This is already the second Paralympic Games for Möbius. In Tokyo he came 27th in the same class. On Wednesday (04.09.24) the 25-year-old started in class R9 (air rifle, 50 m, prone).
