Athletes from the USA, Italy, China and Australia won the 10 Rio 2016 Olympic Games places up for grabs at the Acapulco stage of the ISSF Shotgun World Cup, which came to end in on Monday (9 March). The Americans and Italians claimed three places each, while Chinese and Australian shooters each earned two slots.

The earned places, as confirmed by ISSF, will be allocated to the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of the winning athletes. The NOCs will then decide, along with their national shooting federations, if they will take up their quota and which athletes to send to the Games. Each country can have up to two representatives in each event at the Rio 2016 Games.

In the men’s trap event in Mexico, the places were won by Italy and Australia. Massimo Fabbrizi, silver medallist at London 2012, earned a second berth for Italy in the event at Rio 2016 (the first was won at last year’s world championships) by beating Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 champion Michael Diamond in the final

“Now we have two quotas for Rio, it means we can work in preparation for the Games with less stress,” said Fabbrizi. “We're in, now we have to get ready for it.”

In the women’s trap, the USA’s Corey Cogdell-Unrein, a bronze medal-winner at the Beijing 2008 Games, returned to action after a year out and won gold. The defeated finalist, Australia’s Laetisha Scanlan, guaranteed that her nation had the option of a place in the event at Rio 2016.

Cogdell-Unrein said: “I’m extremely excited about this gold medal, but most importantly, I won an Olympic quota spot for our country, which is what we came here to do. We came together as a team to accomplish this.”

Hu Binyuan ensured that China will be represented in the double trap event at Rio 2016 (Photo: ISSF)

The USA also earned a second place in the double trap. Jeffrey Holguin won the event in a shoot-off with Beijing 2008 bronze medallist Hu Binyuan, who secured a place for China.

“I didn't know if I was ever going to make it.” Holguin said. “First the qualifications, then the semi-final, a shoot-off, the medal match, and another shoot-off... it has been tough, but I was confident all the way.”

The women’s skeet final was an all-USA affair in which five-time Olympic medallist Kimberly Rhode triumphed. The London 2012 champion beat Caitlin Connor, but as the USA had already earned a place in the event at last year’s world championships, the second second Rio 2016 spot went to third-placed Wei Meng, of China.

“I’m super-excited about 2016,” said Rhode. “In London, I finished with 99 hits out of 100 targets, maybe next time I can score them all.”

Three-time Olympic champion Kimberly Rhode won the women's skeet event (Photo: ISSF)

Vincent ‘King of Skeet’ Hancock, who could win a third consecutive gold at Rio 2016, claimed yet another title in Acapulco. But as the American had already won a place in Brazil via the world championships, it was Italian athletes Valerio Luchini and Riccardo Filippelli who were celebrating, as their second and third place finishes were enough to guarantee slots for Rio 2016.

Hancock described his win as “the first stepping stone” on the way to another Olympic gold medal, considering that his world ranking points would decide whether he takes the USA’s place in Rio. “There are a lot of Olympic points on the line this year, so I have to win as many world cup medals as I can,” he said.

Of the 390 shooting places available at Rio 2016, 85 have now been won. In addition to the 10 won in Acapulco, 75 were confirmed last year: 64 at the world championships and 11 at the Americas Shooting Championships.

Another 260 places Rio 2016 places will be allocated via a further 13 competitions this year. Of the remaining slots, 12 will be determined in 2016, nine are allocated to host country Brazil and 24 will be distributed through invitations.