Slovakia wins its first Olympic gold in Tokyo

Sports shooter Zuzana Rehák Štefečeková broke the world record in the qualification round and won gold in the women’s trap.

Zuzana Rehák Štefečeková celebrates her victory in the women's trap at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.Zuzana Rehák Štefečeková celebrates her victory in the women's trap at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. (Source: TASR)

Slovakia earned its first medal at the Summer Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Sports shooter Zuzana Rehák Štefečeková won the women’s trap competition on July 29 after hitting 43 flying targets.

Kayle Browning of the USA came second and Allesandra Perilli of San Marino finished third, the Sme daily reported.

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“I’m really happy,” Rehák Štefečeková told the public-service broadcaster RTVS.

It is her third Olympic medal in trap. She already has two silver medals from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and 2012 Olympics in London.

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Breaking the record

A native of Nitra, Rehák Štefečeková advanced to the finals after winning the qualification round, where she hit all 125 targets. She broke the world qualification record.

She is the first shooter in history to hit every single target in a qualification round, Sme wrote.

"I did not expect this at all," she said after the qualification round, as quoted by the TASR newswire. "I told myself in the morning that I will try to get ahead of my rivals to have my place in the finals secured."

Going into the competition, her goal was to break her personal record of 122 targets.

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