Pace settles for silver, one clay less than Amici

Frans Pace yesterday earned Malta another GSSE silver medal after placing second in the Trap shoot at the Bidnija ranges.

He finished with a total of 140 hits, just one clay short of San Marino's Francesco Amici who completed a remarkable comeback in the final barrage to retain the title he won in San Marino two years ago.

Luxembourg's Armand Dousemont, the overall leader prior to the final, surprisingly finished out of the medals zone after losing a shoot-off for the bronze medal with George Landos of Cyprus.

Malta's other shooter in the barrage, Noel Vella, finished sixth with a total of 132 clays.

"I can't describe my joy at winning this medal," an emotional Pace said. "This result means a lot to me. It's not easy to perform in front of a home crowd... the pressure was huge but that only increases my satisfaction. In the end, I had to hold tight to control my nerves.

"Obviously, there was a tinge of disappointment because I was very close to the gold medal. However, Amici is a world-class shooter who has won various titles in both the GSSE and World Cup competitions. He deserves this title because he was absolutely perfect in the final barrage."

The barrage finale was a nail-biting affair. Dousemont had started on top with 119... one ahead of Pace and three ahead of Amici and Landos. The top positions on the leaderboard kept changing rapidly, though, and at one stage Dousemont, Pace and Amici had the same number of points.

Dousemont was the first to crack under pressure, leaving Pace and Amici to fight it out for gold. The Maltese shooter missed the final clay but Amici maintained his 100 per cent record to complete a straight and land gold in spectacular fashion.

It was the second time that Pace was pipped to gold by Amici, a repeat of what had happened in San Marino.

"I dedicate this medal to my uncle Wenzu Vella who passed away a few weeks ago," Pace added. "He was the person who encouraged me to take up this sport. I am grateful to the Malta Olympic Committee, the Shooting Federation and my family for their constant support in the last two years."

Shooting Federation president Saviour Portelli was proud of Pace's success and predicted more success for Malta in the coming days.

"Frans was fantastic, superb," he said. "His score of 140 in these windy conditions is no mean feat. This shows that we are improving with every competition. I have no doubt that more medals will be won by our shooters at the Bidnija ranges."

National coach Francesco Castellani said the secret behind Pace's success is his dedication. He said: "I have met very few people who are so dedicated and focused on their sport like Frans is. Today he was beaten by one of the best shooters around. The Maltese should be proud of having a great champion like Frans."