Two Medals and an Olympic Quota Place secured in the European Championships

The GB Senior Olympic Trap team have secured two medals in Cyprus as Lucy Hall and Nathan Hales impress at the European Championships with a silver and bronze respectively.

Lucy Hall was lost for words after winning a silver medal at the European Shooting Championships and clinching a quota spot for Team GB at Paris 2024 in the process.

The 18-year-old was outstanding in Larnaca as she came within a whisker of taking the European trap title, eventually having to settle for silver behind Italy’s Silvana Stanco.

However, with the top spots earning quota places for their respective countries at the 2024 Olympics, it was a brilliant return for Hall, who finished just ahead of Italy’s Jessica Rossi, the London 2012 gold medallist.

Hall started brilliantly, missing just one of her first 15 shots to guarantee a medal, before three misses in the next ten saw her drop to second behind Stanco.

She was flawless from then on but her Italian rival matched her, taking gold, with a delighted Hall still overjoyed at the silver.

The teenager said: “I do not even know what to say. I don't even know what's going on but I'm so happy to get the spot for GB and obviously the silver at the Europeans. I'm over the moon."

“I had a good first 15 and then ten that were ok and then the last ten that were really good. But I'm just so happy for the silver medal and the quota place.”

In the men’s final, Nathan Hales was desperately close to securing a second quota spot for Team GB on the day, eventually having to settle for bronze on bib number.

He and Sweden’s Rickard Levin-Andersson were neck-and-neck for long periods, eventually both sitting on 21 from 25 shots when Hales was eliminated on bib number.

Hales had earlier got the better of teammate Matthew Coward-Holley, the Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist, to make it through to the final.

Czech Republic’s Jiri Liptak, the reigning Olympic champion, won gold with a dominant performance as he made 31 shots from 31.

Elsewhere for GB, Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist, Matthew Coward-Holley was unlucky to miss out on the final after finishing third in his semi-final. Aaron Heading finished 14th in the qualification rounds.

In Women's qualification Kirsty Hegarty finished 13th and Ellie Seward, 22nd.

Huge congratulations to our shooters, go on team GB!