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ShOOTER <strong>OF</strong> <strong>ThE</strong> <strong>YEAR</strong><br />
ShOOTER <strong>OF</strong> <strong>ThE</strong> <strong>YEAR</strong> <strong>2012</strong><br />
NICCOLO “NICCO” CAMPRIANI (iTa)<br />
tWeNty-FiVe yeaR OlD italiaN sHOOteR NiCCO CampRiaNi DOesN’t<br />
Feel like a sUpeRHeRO, He saiD. bUt iNDeeD He sUCCeeDeD iN sOmetHiNg<br />
speCial, beCOmiNg tHe <strong>2012</strong> sHOOteR <strong>OF</strong> tHe yeaR aFteR<br />
beiNg tHe staR <strong>OF</strong> tHe lONDON OlympiC games. “tHe JOURNey is<br />
betteR tHaN tHe DestiNatiON”, He saiD. sO We askeD Him tO tell<br />
Us tHe stORy <strong>OF</strong> tHis JOURNey.<br />
C<br />
ampriani can’t be described<br />
through his medal alone, but we<br />
began by using his medals as a<br />
starting point in order to draw the portrait of<br />
this great shooter. The Italian athlete started<br />
winning in 2010, when he obtained the World<br />
Champion title in Munich, becoming the first<br />
qualified athlete for the <strong>2012</strong> Games among all<br />
the sports. From there on, nobody could stop<br />
him: the 2011 ISSF World Cup Series was a<br />
stage of great scores and victories. Campriani<br />
reached outstanding results during the <strong>2012</strong><br />
shooting season as well, peaking on his way<br />
to the Olympics. Starting off with an individual<br />
Silver medal at the <strong>2012</strong> European Championships,<br />
he then led the ISSF World Cup Series,<br />
winning three Gold, one Silver and one Bronze<br />
medals in London, Milan and Munich.<br />
10 ISSF NEWS 1 2013<br />
The London Games were the coronation of a<br />
path of hard training, taking him from Europe<br />
to USA and back to Europe again. In London,<br />
Campriani turned out to be one of the most successful<br />
Italian Olympians among all the sports.<br />
The 25-year old engineer from Florence earned<br />
the Gold in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions event, and<br />
Silver in the 10m Air Rifle Men event, establishing<br />
two Olympic records in the first event,<br />
and matching the Olympic record in the latter.<br />
The voters of the “Shooter of the Year” title<br />
did not hesitate: Campriani was named the<br />
best male shooter in <strong>2012</strong>. Sport Journalists,<br />
Coaches and Athletes awarded him the title<br />
with a total of 108 points, with a 20-point lead<br />
over Belarusian Olympic Champion, Martynov.<br />
“This is the cherry on top of the cake. It’s great<br />
news at the end of my best shooting season,”<br />
Campriani said, as he was elected. “I owe it to<br />
the all the people who have been helping and<br />
supporting me during the period leading up<br />
to the Games,” The Italian shooter added. “I<br />
am honored to be on the “podium” with such<br />
great shooters like Martynov – a true legend –<br />
and Jin – the best pistol shooter of the world. I<br />
am the first Italian Rifle or Pistol shooter to win<br />
such award, after Roberto Di Donna (who won<br />
it twice in 1994 and 1996), and that’s a great<br />
achievement for me and my team.”<br />
Nicco, after such a great season, I guess you<br />
expected it, didn’t you?<br />
I did not expect it, but <strong>2012</strong> has been definitely<br />
my best season. I finished in second place for<br />
Shooter of the Year 2010, so I knew I had a<br />
chance to win, after earning two medals at the<br />
Games. I would have never guessed I was going<br />
to be awarded the title of best shooter in<br />
the world when I started shooting back in 2000.<br />
You picked up the sport when you were only<br />
13. Why did you start shooting?<br />
My dad took me to the shooting range for the<br />
first time. He is a pistol shooter at amateur level.<br />
Photos: Yorck Dertinger / Wolfgang Schreiber
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