Chateauroux - Ban Hyo-jin, a 16-year-old South Korean athlete, has set a new Olympic record in the qualification stage for the women's 10-meter air rifle at the Paris Olympics, marking a significant milestone in her burgeoning shooting career.
Ban scored 634.5 points during the qualifications at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre, surpassing the previous record of 632.9 set by Jeanette Hegg Duestad of Norway at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. With this performance, Ban not only leads the qualification round but also positions herself as a frontrunner for the medals in the upcoming final. Her rapid ascent in the sport is noteworthy, having only begun shooting during the last Olympic Games three years ago.
Another South Korean, Keum Ji-hyeon, narrowly missed qualifying for the final, finishing ninth with a score of 630.9, just 0.4 points behind France’s Oceanne Muller. Keum's performance follows her recent silver medal win in the 10m air rifle mixed team event at these Games. Interestingly, Ban was initially slated to partner with Park Ha-jun for the mixed team event but was replaced by Keum shortly before the Olympics, a strategic decision that quickly yielded a medal.