The weak have no chance. The (un)success is practically decided by the finger resting on the cock and aiming the barrel of the shotgun at the asphalt pigeon thanks to a squinted eye. However, everything is triggered by the head as a powerful conductor.
Photo: TASR, Martin Baumann
Vanesa Hocková (left) and Danka Barteková took care of a Slovak Olympic unique by participating in the final together.
If you don’t have it clean and focused, you will fail in one of the most balanced Olympic sports. Sports shooting is an unprecedented phenomenon in its field. Fans in Slovakia are most interested during the climax of the four-year Olympic cycle. They got used to the fact that strong nerves and an accurate target bring joy and medals under the Tatras.
Out of the eight Games in the era of independent Slovakia, shooters managed to win at least one medal out of five. After water slalom, it is the most successful Slovak discipline. And although Vanesa Hocková and Danka Barteková performed a hussar trick in skeet yesterday in Paris, they did not reach the precious metal.
“Two Slovak women in the final? Unique. We enjoyed it, it’s a shame that there wasn’t at least one medal success from it,” admitted Juraj Sedlák, Vanesa Hocková’s coach.
Debut without reward
A third of the finalists of Sunday’s battle for medals combined their training with the shooting range in Trnava. The experienced Barteková and the debutant Hocková played the final well, but in the end they ended up off the podium. They had to settle for the sixth and fourth positions, respectively.
“We went to the finals as the fourth seed and ended up fourth. Too bad, there was a chance to move up. But the fifth station came, but that happens. I am satisfied and Vanesa should be too. Although inside she probably regrets that she didn’t win a medal. Because in the final the ambitions are clear, you want to have a valuable metal,” evaluated Sedlák.
Bartek’s micro team was also more or less satisfied, for which coach Štefan Zemko spoke. “She worked as hard as she could. She herself said that she had probably never experienced such a grueling race. She ended up going through a shootout, but the finale is great. She didn’t know how to catch the other target in the places where she made mistakes. It wasn’t that,” said Zemko.
The end of shadow and silence
The mind of his colleague Sedlák led him to an incredible idea. The kind that has only happened once in Slovak history. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, two Slovaks stood on the podium. Michal Martikán finished second in the C1 category, his water slalom colleague Juraj Minčík took bronze.
“I already saw in my mind two Slovak women on the podium, but this sport heals you quickly. It’s happened to me too, about a thousand times. We came to succeed. It was successful, but a medal would be an extra bonus,” continued Sedlák.
He watched with admiration how his 24-year-old charge coped with her debut at the highest sports forum. Especially on the second day of the qualification and at the beginning of the final, it seemed as if her nervousness did not affect her. She is so special in this, in a positive way. If he sets his mind to something, he turns it into reality.
“She must have had some stress, because you can’t shoot in absolute peace at the Olympics. But she was able to handle it Technically very well and she shot fluently.”
On Sunday, she smoothly shot 66 targets in a row without a single mistake. But then she kicked three in four shots and paid the rookie tax with interest. She could no longer make up for the loss
“She was probably distracted. Maybe she reacted late, it was slow. A tenth is all it takes and you have trouble hitting the pigeon,” says Sedlák.
He did not reveal what he welcomed Hocková with after the successful final. Apparently those words are too personal. “I tried to encourage her, because to finish fourth at the Olympics on the first try is a success. In two years, she has advanced a lot – both personally and in terms of performance. If he continues to do so, he will be among the world’s best. It won’t be easy. She survived the race in Paris like no other. It was fantastic to watch her.”
She enjoyed the shade and silence at Chateauroux. Barteková caught the spotlight and the noise of the microphones. However, with the performance on August 4, 2024 and the fourth place, her sweet times without pressure ended.
“It will definitely be bigger. Now we had an advantage, because the attention was on Danko. It was extremely difficult for her. I wished her a medal, she’s been working for years,” Sedlák responded.
The future does not look bad
Sagittarians are a kind of family. Its members are often lonely. With a shotgun broken on his shoulder and his thoughts directed at asphalt pigeons. However, when someone succeeds, they congratulate each other. Regardless of nationality. It was also true at the moment when Barteková was the first to leave the final half dozen.
“This year we started from scratch. It didn’t work out for her at the World Cup in Morocco, we were struggling. She created a team of people and we finally made it to the finals in Paris. It wasn’t easy,” Zemko recalls in 2024.
Slovak shooting and medal success have gone hand in hand since the beginning of the independent Slovak Republic. At the Olympics in Atlanta 1996 and Athens 2004, Jozef Gonci won the precious metal. In Beijing 2008, Zuzana Rehák shone for the first time, while Štefečeková won bronze four years later. The last precious metal dates back to 2021, when Rehák Štefečeková won Olympic gold.
“When a lot is expected from the shooters, the pressure is very enormous. It’s hard to work with when you have custom items waiting for you. Maybe, when we don’t wait for anything more from the shooting, the medals can come again,” thought Zemko.
The future of Slovak sports before the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles does not look rosy. However, it would not be so black in shooting. In addition to the traditional stalwarts, the youth are also pushing forward.
“Smart competition is growing in the women’s team in the future as well,” says Sedlák. “You’ve seen Vanesa, her sister Mirka is also a junior champion. There’s something there,” adds Zemko. Slovakia has to wait another four years for another shooting medal. At least.
Source: sportweb.pravda.sk
