Another qualifying event in Shooting is up for grabs in all individual events at the European Games. The event takes place at the Sląsk multi-sports club in Wrocław, Poland.

All twelve individual events: 10m air rifle, 10m air pistol, 50m rifle 3 positions, Rapid Fire Pistol (M)/25m Pistol (W), Trap, and Skeet. The winner, or best athlete to not already qualify (or come from an NOC with the maximum two spots) will get a place.

On the men’s side, no Brits have qualified yet in the 10m Air Rifle. Michael Bargeron is the British rifle athlete, although he prefers the 50m event. No Brits have qualified in the 10m Air Pistol either. Kristian Callaghan, Sam Gowin and James Miller compete for GB. Callaghan was 30th at the World Championships, and while Gowin prefers the rapid fire pistol, Miller was 38th in last year’s World Championships. In the 50m Rifle 3 Positions, no Brits have qualified yet for Paris. Bargeron will hope to do better than his 47th at last years Worlds. In the Rapid Fire Pistol, no Brits have qualified yet, but Callaghan, Gowin and Miller will hope to go well. Gowin has a Commonwealth Games bronze in the event and was 35th in last year’s Worlds. In the Trap, GB already have a qualifier in Nathan Hales from the World Championships. Hales is not here this time, with Matthew Coward Holley and Aaron Heading in Poland. Coward Holley won Olympic bronze in Tokyo but was 91st in last year’s World Championships. Heading was 23rd in Tokyo but eighth in last year’s Worlds. Finally, in the Skeet no Brits have qualified yet but Freddie Killander and Ben Llewellin compete for GB. Killander was 47th in last years European Championships but Llewellin won bronze.

On the women’s side, Seonaid McIntosh has already qualified in the 10m air rifle and has returned, but can’t win another spot. She is joined by Katie Gleeson, who prefers the 50m distance. We’re yet to qualify an athlete in the 10m air pistol but Jess Liddon is in Poland. She was 48th in last year’s Worlds. In the 50m Rifle 3 Positions, no Brits have qualified but Gleeson and McIntosh hope for success. Gleeson came 39th in the Worlds last year. McIntosh was 14th in this event at Tokyo 2020. In the 25m Pistol, Liddon will be present and hope to do better than her 47th in last year’s Worlds. In the Trap, Lucy Hall has already qualified but she is joined by Georgina Roberts. Roberts was 17th in the Worlds last year. Finally, in the Skeet, Amber Rutter (formerly Amber Hill) has already qualified and she is joined by Emily Hibbs. Hibbs was fourteenth in last year’s Worlds.

For the mixed events (10m Air Rifle, 10m Air Pistol, Skeet), qualifying a man and a woman gets you a place. With McIntosh and Rutter qualifying, we are one Man away in the 10m Air Rifle and Skeet, but no progress has been made yet with the Air Pistol.

Shooting starts with the 10m Air Pistol on 22 June. The 10m Air Rifle is on 23 June, followed by the Skeet qualification on 24 and 25 June. On 25 June there will also be the start of Women’s 25m Pistol qualification, then the Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions, and finals of the Skeet. 26 June sees the completion of the Women’s 25m Pistol, and the Women’s 50m Rifle 3 positions. On 29 June is the start of the Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol as well as Trap qualification, with all three events concluding on 30 June.

Boxing’s European qualifier is set to take place in the Nowy Targ Arena, an ice rink in Poland, as part of the European Games.

In boxing there are seven male and six female weight categories, all of which will have qualifying spots available here. The four semifinalists in all events apart from the Women’s 75kg and Men’s 51kg, 92kg and +92kg (where only finalists will get a place) qualify for the Olympics.

On the Men’s side, our Flyweight competitor is Kiaran MacDonald, who won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games. In the Featherweight (57kg) is Jack Dryden, a newcomer to the team. The light welterweight (63.5kg) choice is Commonwealth Games champion Reese Lynch. In the Light Middleweight (71kg) 2021 European champion Harris Akbar dons the red white and blue, while in the Light Heavyweight (80kg) Commonwealth Games silver medalist Taylor Bevan steps up. In the heavyweight Lewis Williams will look to add to his Commonwealth Games championship, while in the Super Heavyweight Delicious Orie will look to do the same.

On the Women’s side, Commonwealth Games runner-up Demie-Jade Resztan is our Light-Flyweight (50kg) athlete. In the Bantamweight (54kg) is Charley Davison, who reached the Round of 16 at Tokyo 2020. Our Featherweight (57kg) athlete is Elise Glynn, who was a European quarterfinallist. In the lightweight (60kg) is Shona Whitwell, who reached the world Round of 16, while in the welterweight (66kg) is Rosie Eccles who recently won a Grand Prix event. Finally is Kerry Davis in the Middleweight who is a world quarterfinallist.

The Round of 32 will be on 23, 24, and 25 June, with the Round of 16 starting on 25 June and going into the 26 and 27 June. Quarterfinals are on 28 June, with a rest day before the Semifinals on 30 June. The finals are on 1 July and 2 July.

The European Artistic Swimming qualifier will take place in Chemików 2 at Oświęcim, Poland, as part of the European Games.

For the Team event, the European place is reserved for hosts France, and so GB will have to try at the World Championships 2024 in Doha, Qatar from 2-18 February.

All teams will qualify for the duet. While the European place in the duet is also reserved for France on paper, as they will qualify through the team event, the European Games will be a qualifier. The best duet that does not qualify for the team event (either France or any team that qualifies in Doha next year) will earn a place.

The British duet is Kate Shortman and Isabelle Thorpe. They managed to earn a bronze medal at a recent World Cup event and will hope to impress. The Duet Technical and Free events (separate medal events in the Games) will have their score combined for Olympic qualification purposes.

The Free qualification is on 21 June at 08:00, with the final at 16:00 on 24 June. The Technical event is on 22 June at 17:00.

The European qualifier for Archery will take place in the coming days at Plaszowianka Archery Park in Kraków, Poland. It is part of a multi-sports club.

The first event hierarchically is actually the World Championships in July and August. That will qualify three teams. The winner of the European Games, or the best team not already qualified will be retrospectively awarded a spot.

The winning team also gets three individual spots: but there are some individual places. The winner of the mixed team competition (or best not already qualified) will get one man and one woman in individual events (which automatically enters you into the mixed team). Finally, there are two individual spots.

For GB, on the Men’s side is Monty Orton, James Woodgate, and Alex Wise. Orton was European youth champion and was also team champion alongside Woodgate, who also entered Tokyo 2020 (where he was eliminated in the first round). Wise won a silver medal in the mixed team at the Antalya World Cup stage.

On the Women’s side is Penny Healey, Byrony Pitman, and Jaspreet Sagoo. British women have been exciting with Healey and Pitman leading a British 1-2 in the rankings. Both have won World Cup stages, while Sagoo has joined them in winning team medals.

The ranking round will be on 23 June at 07:45 and 12:00 (M). Later will be the Mixed Team Rounds of 32 and 16. On 24 June will be the Women and Men team events until completion. On 25 June there will be Mixed Team until completion. On 26 June there will be Round of 64 and Round of 32 action in the Men’s Individual, and on 27 June the Women’s. On 28 June the Women will play to the end and on 29 June the men.

The World Rugby Sevens Series has taken place but neither British team got an Olympic place.

The top four teams would win a spot (bar hosts France who already qualified). On the men’s side, there would be eleven tournaments. The first took place in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, where GB lost 34-0 to France in their opening Pool A match, before beating South Africa 12-10 and losing 19-17 to Uruguay. GB thus came third in their pool and went for ninth. Here they beat Japan 29-0 in the quarterfinal, but lost 17-12 to Canada in the semifinal. Therefore, GB came joint 11th, enough for five points in the overall standings.

In Dubai, United Arab Emirates, GB beat South Africa 14-5 in Pool A then lost 28-19 to Australia, after which they drew 14-14 with Kenya. This put them in third again so they went for ninth. They beat Japan 45-5 in the quarterfinal, but lost 26-7 to Uruguay, again putting them joint eleventh and getting five overall points.

Next was Cape Town, South Africa, where they started with a 21-19 win over Australia, before losing 36-5 to the United States of America and beating Uganda 38-5. This put them second in Pool D so they entered the main quarterfinals. Here they lost 21-14 to South Africa, so went for fifth, where they lost 26-14 to Argentina in the semifinal. Therefore, they came joint seventh and got ten overall points.

Next was Hamilton, New Zealand, where GB started with a 28-14 loss to Australia and a 26-21 loss to Tonga. After this was a 19-12 loss to the hosts, meaning GB finished bottom of Pool A. They went for ninth, where they beat Japan 24-12 in the quarterfinal, but lost 24-14 to Samoa in the semi and another joint eleventh and five points was the result.

Sydney, Australia, was next, where GB kicked off their Pool A campaign with a 12-7 loss to the hosts. They then beat Argentina 26-19, and Canada 33-5, for second in the pool. They entered the main quarterfinals, but lost 26-14 to Fiji. They then entered the semifinals for fifth, but lost 21-19 to Ireland, so came joint seventh with ten points.

Next was Los Angeles, United States of America, where GB kicked off Pool A with a 7-5 win over Argentina. Then came a 24-17 win over Spain, and a 21-14 win over France. This meant they topped the pool, but they lost 24-12 in the quarterfinals. They went for fifth, beating Ireland 12-5 in the semifinals, but losing 24-19 in the play-off, meaning they finished sixth, giving them twelve points in the rankings.

Vancouver, Canada, was next, where GB began Pool C with a 45-5 win over Uruguay. A 26-12 win over Kenya was next, before a 26-15 loss to Fiji. They topped the pool but lost the quarterfinal 15-7 to France. Going for fifth, they lost 19-5 to New Zealand in the semifinal so came joint seventh and won ten points.

A return to Hong Kong was next, with GB kicking off Pool B with a 14-12 win over Uruguay. After this was a 33-12 win over Hong Kong, China, and a 17-14 loss to France to come second in the pool. In the quarters, GB beat the United States of America 21-10, but they lost 19-14 to Fiji in the semis and 19-17 to France in the bronze match, finishing fourth for fifteen points.

Singapore, Singapore was next with GB strating with a 19-17 win over Japan, and then a 14-7 win over Ireland and a 19-17 loss to Argentina. This was enough for second in Pool D, but GB lost 22-10 to New Zealand in the quarterfinals. Going for fifth, they beat France 17-12 in the semifinal but lost 24-21 to Australia in the play-off for sixth and twelve points.

Toulouse, France, was next, where GB started with a 14-0 win over Spain, followed by a 14-0 win over Germany, and then a 50-0 loss to Argentina. This was enough for second in Pool B, and they lost 17-12 to France in the quarterfinals. Going for fifth, they lost 22-0 to Ireland in the semis so got joint seventh and ten points.

Finally was London, Great Britain, where GB beat South Africa 19-15 but lost 20-5 to New Zealand. A 21-19 win over the United States of America was enough for second in Pool B. In the quarters, they lost 12-5 to Samoa, but went for fifth where they lost 19-12 to Ireland. Joint seventh got them six points.

The overall standings saw them get 100 points, finishing ninth overall, and not qualifying, being 33 points short of Australia in fifth (as France were fourth).

For women, the format was the same, albeit with less events. First up was Dubai. GB lost 19-12 to New Zealand, and then 26-21 to France, but beat Brazil 38-7. This was enough for third in Pool B. As one of the better third placed teams, they played in the quarterfinals but lost 22-5 to the Kiwis. Going for fifth, they lost 21-12 to Ireland, and then lost 14-10 to Spain going for seventh. Eighth was enough for six points.

Cape Town was next, where GB started with a 19-10 loss to Fiji and a 19-7 loss to New Zealand. A 29-5 win over Brazil meant third in Pool B and a quarterfinal with Australia. Here GB lost 38-0, so went for fifth. In the semifinal they beat Fiji 19-14, but lost 36-28 to France in the play-off so came sixth for ten points.

Hamilton was the next stage and a 19-14 loss to Fiji was followed by a 36-0 win over Papua New Guinea. A 20-0 loss to New Zealand was next but GB came third in Pool A. A quarterfinal against Australia led to another 38-0 loss, but going for fifth a 12-0 semifinal win against Fiji set up a play-off with Japan. Here GB won 14-10 so got fifth and twelve points.

Sydney was next up where GB started with a 17-5 win over Fiji. A 19-5 win over Canada came next, before a 12-10 loss to the United States of America. GB still topped Pool B for a quarterfinal with the US, but they lost 10-5. This put them fighting for fifth, but they lost 19-0 to Australia in the semifinal. However, they did beat Japan 21-5 to clinch seventh and get eight points.

Vancouver was the next destination, and GB started with a 26-24 win over Fiji. A 43-7 loss to New Zealand was followed by a 57-0 win over Colombia. This put GB second in Pool A and set up a quarterfinal with the United States of America, but a loss to 24-5 put them fighting for fifth. Here they lost 28-19 to Fiji, but GB did beat Ireland 25-5 for seventh and eight points.

In Hong Kong, GB started with a 5-0 win over Canada, but lost 43-0 to New Zealand. A 35-0 win over Hong Kong, China, put them second in Pool B. This set up a quarterfinal with France, which they won 5-0, but they lost 21-5 to Australia in the semifinal. In the bronze match, GB beat Fiji 22-19, for third and sixteen points.

Finally was Toulouse, where GB started with a 19-12 win over Japan. They then beat Spain 33-12, but lost 19-17 to Fiji. This was enough for second in Pool C, so GB had a quarterfinal with France, where they lost 28-10. In the fifth-placed semifinal, they lost 14-5 to Japan, so they faced off with Fiji for seventh, winning 22-17. This was enough for seventh and eight points. Overall, GB got 68 points and came seventh, six points behind Ireland in fifth (again France came fourth).

That means, the next chance is to win the European tournament: or be the best apart from France (and on the women’s side, Ireland), which is the European Games in Krakow, Poland, on 25 to 27 June.

Times of more qualification events have now been announced by the IOC and the respective governing bodies.

In Canoe Sprint, an update to the Olympic Qualification System has been announced. The European qualifier will take place in Szeged, Hungary, on 8 and 9 May 2024. This is in addition to the main qualifier, the 2023 Canoe Sprint World Championships in Duisburg, Germany, from 23 to 27 August.

In Hockey, it was already known that the EuroHockey Nations Championship in Monchengladbach, Germany, in August would be the qualifier, but now we have dates: 18 to 27 August.

In Rugby Sevens, the dates of the tournament in the European Games in Krakow/Malopolska, Poland (the European qualifier) were finalised as from 25 to 27 June.

In Shooting, the venue of the European Games was confirmed as Wroclaw, Poland, and the dates of the World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, have been extended from 14 August to 1 September. The European Shotgun Championships have moved to Osijek, Croatia, and been confirmed for 8-27 September. The European 10m Championships have been confirmed for 24 February-3 March 2024. The European Championship/Qualification Tournament for 25m/50m has dates TBD but have been confirmed for Osijek, Croatia. There are now two final qualifiers: one for Rifle and Pistol, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (11-19 April), and one for Shotguns (22-30 April), in Doha, Qatar. Finally, the European Shotgun Championships in Lonato, Italy, are confirmed as for 15-27 May 2024.

In Surfing, the date for the 2024 ISA World Surfing Games has been confirmed as 22 February to 3 March, in Puerto Rico.

In Table Tennis, the European Qualification events have been revealed: for Mixed Doubles, the European Games in Krakow-Malopolska, Poland, from 23 June to 2 July, and for Teams in Malmö, Sweden, from 10 to 17 September.

The European qualifier for Surfing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which is the 2023 ISA World Surfing Games has taken place.

In Surf City, El Salvador, the top European athlete for each gender would qualify one place.

Three Brits entered on the Men’s side: Luke Dillon, Patrick Langdon-Dark, and Stanley Norman. None are considered near the elite. Norman was first to go up in Round 1 (where the top two qualified), lining up in Heat 3 against the Philippines’ Philmar Alipayo, Nicaragua’s Kevin Cortez, and Cody Merritt of the Virgin Islands, US. Norman was top with 10.44, ahead of Cortez (7.70), Merritt (6.93), and Alipayo (6.13). Dillon faced Nicaraguan Cesar Amador, Virgin Islander Jon Gazi and Austria’s Manuel Paulitsch in Heat 7. He also came top with 7.67, ahead of Amador (6.36), Paulitsch (2.83) and Gozi (2.80). Finally, Langdon-Dark started in Heat 47 with Thailand’s Sitipong Chapman, Nicaragua’s Yeferson López, and the Philippines’ John Mark Tokong. Langdon-Dark was top with 10.63 ahead of Tokong (7.00), Chapman (6.70), and López (5.20).

This put them in Round 2, again two qualified. In Heat 1, Norman joined Israel’s Ido Arkin, American Samoa’s Jonah Jarrard, and Portugal’s Guilherme Ribeiro. He qualified in second with 12.47, behind Arkin (13.03) but ahead of Ribeiro (8.17) and Jarrard (5.23). Dillon joined Heat 3 with Venezuela’s Keoni Lasa, Uruguay’s Sebastian Olarte, and American Samoa’s Liam Wilson. He could only manage third with 7.94, beating Wilson (7.57) but behind Lasa (11.10) and Olarte (9.27). Finally, Langdon-Dark joined Portugal’s Guilherme Fonseca, Belgium’s Razz Rosenbaum, and Israel’s Uri Uziel in Heat 23. Uziel won with 11.24, Fonseca was second with 10.64, with Langdon-Dark missing out on 8.63 but ahead of Rosenbaum (5.57).

Therefore, only Norman made it to Round 3, where he met Portugal’s Frederico Morais, Olarte, and New Zealand’s Billy Stairmand. He came third on 8.60, with Stairmand (10.93) and Morais (10.40) ahead and Olarte (6.36) in last.

Thus, all competed in the repechage, with Dillon and Langdon-Dark entering Repechage 2 and Norman Repechage 4. Dillon was placed with Amador, Greece’s Dimitri Papavassiliou, and Norway’s Noah Storhaug in Heat 3. He came top with 10.73 ahead of Papavassiliou (9.40), Storhaug (8.80) and Amador (8.63). In Heat 23, Langdon-Dark met López, Tokong, and Belgium’s Dean Vandewalle. He too came top with 8.60, ahead of Vandewalle (4.64), López (4.17), Tokong (4.10).

In Repechage 3, Dillon was first in Heat 1 against Israel’s Yoni Klein, Venezuelan Jose Joaquin Lopez, and Ribeiro. Ribeiro was top with 11.63 but Dillon’s 11.54 was enough to beat Klein (10.93) and Lopez (9.27). In Heat 11, Langdon-Dark met Filipino Noah Arkfeld, the Netherlands’ Beyrick de Vries, and Puerto Rico’s Dwight Pastrana. Langdon-Dark was top with 12.34 ahead of Pastrana (8.80), Arkfeld (6.67), and de Vries (6.37).

In Repechage 4 Heat 2, Dillon and Norman were together with Arkin and Uruguayan Marco Giorgi. Giorgi was top with 13.16, and Norman’s 11.07 beat Dillon’s 10.34 for second as Arkin’s 6.13 placed him last. In Heat 11, Langdon-Dark met New Zealander Kehu Butler, Fonseca, and Costa Rican Malakai Martinez. Langdon-Dark’s 6.70 was the lowest score behind Butler (14.04), Martinez (13.33), and Fonseca (9.47).

Only Norman was left for Repechage 5, where he met Lasa, El Salvador’s Porfirio Miranda, and Costa Rica’s Carlos Muñoz. His 9.26 was not enough, finishing last behind Muñoz (14.77), Miranda (12.43) and Lasa (10.77). A French athlete, Kauli Vaast, got all the way to Repechage 12 and took the spot.

On the women’s side, Alys Barton, Lucy Campbell, and Vittoria Farmer represented GB, although none were considered elite. Farmer went first in Heat 15 of Round 1, with Israel’s Noa Leilor, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Setareh Mazhari, and South Africa’s Zoe Steyn. In the end, she got through in second with 10.36, behind Leilor (11.86) but ahead of Steyn (7.16) and Mazhari (0.00). In Heat 19, Barton met Türkiye’s Ozlem Ada, Israel’s Advah Bar Sade, and South Africa’s Sarah Baum. She too came second with 8.20, behind Baum (11.57), but ahead of Bar Sade (7.07) and Ada (1.80). Finally, in Heat 23, Campbell met Israel’s Anat Leilor, South Africa’s Danielle Powis, and Saudi Arabia’s Leila Zahid. Campbell was second with 5.83, behind Leilor (11.33) but ahead of Powis (5.13) and Zahid (1.10).

In Round 2, Heat 8, Farmer met Ecuador’s Dominic Barona, Indonesia’s Lidia Kato, and Brazil’s Silvana Lima. She came third with 7.07, beating Kato (5.97) but behind Lima (12.27) and Barona (9.53). In Heat 10, Barton faced New Zealander Pia Rogers, Brazilian Luana Silva, and Barbados’ Chelsea Tuach. She came second with 9.46, behind Tuach (12.90) but ahead of Silva (9.07) and Rogers (7.40). In Heat 12, Campbell faced Indonesian Taina Angel, Ecuadorian Wendy Velazquez and Brazilian Tati Weston Webb. She came second with 8.33, behind Weston Webb (15.10), but ahead of Angel (6.57) and Velazquez (1.67).

Barton and Campbell met in Round 3, Heat 5, alongside France’s Pauline Ado and the United States of America’s Caroline Marks. Neither Barton’s 6.90 or Campbell’s 6.74 were good enough to beat Marks (9.43) or Ado (9.07).

Thus, all entered the Repechage, with Farmer in Repechage 2 and both Barton and Campbell in Repechage 4. In Heat 8 of Repechage 2, Farmer faced Dutchwoman Sigal Kruithof, Steyn, and Morocco’s Lilias Tebbai. 10.43 was behind Steyn’s 13.66 but beat Tebbai (10.03) and Kruithof (2.70).

In Repechage 3, Heat 3, Farmer met Filipina Vea Estrellado, Canada’s Sanoa Olin, and Barbadian Chelsea Roett. 9.16 was only good enough for third, beating Roett (8.77) but behind Olin (13.70) and Estrellado (9.54).

In Repechage 4, Heat 5, Barton met Canadian Erin Brooks, Peru’s Arena Rodriguez, and Silva. However, her 0.00 meant she was eliminated behind Silva (14.60), Brooks (11.93), and Rodriguez (8.50). In Heat 6, Campbell met Anat Leilor, Baum, and Tuach. Her 9.53 was only good enough for third, beating Tuach (9.17) but losing to Leilor (12.93) and Baum (12.17).

France’s Johanne Defay won bronze to be the best European.

This means no Brits qualified, and with no Brits on the World Surf Tour being in the top 5/top 7 (men’s/women’s) at 2024’s event is the next step.

The first Modern Pentathlon qualifying event took place for both events (Men’s and Women’s), in the form of the 2023 UIPM World Cup Final.

Held in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Great Britain had high hopes, but only the champion would get a spot directly. On the Men’s side, three Brits entered. Charles Brown won a gold in the mixed team relay the Junior World Championships in Poland last year, and got a respectable eighth individually, but had middling results making the step up to the big leagues. This could not be said for Joseph Choong, who has Olympic, World, and European Gold. Finally, Myles Pillage is on the fringes in senior competition. The top nine would qualify from each semifinal, with Brown and Pillage in Semifinal A and Choong in Semifinal B.

After the Fencing, Pillage was 13th and Brown was 14th with 193 and 185 respective points, 29 and 37 respectively behind Czech Marek Grycz in ninth. The Riding did not help as Brown (on Meric) earned 28 penalties for obstacles to earn 272 points (14th) and Pillage (on Meliksah) racked up seventeen in addition to taking 79 seconds, earning another seventeen, one for each second over the limit, to earn 266 points, the least of anyone who finished. Pillage was the fastest swimmer with a 1:59.71, earning him 311 points, with Brown in 7th with 2:06.16 and 298. However, Pillage was still 12th (1:10 behind) and Brown 16th (1:25 behind) going into the laser run. This meant they had twenty and 35 respective seconds to make up on ninth-placed Alexandre Dallenbach of Switzerland. Alas, Brown’s 10:59 and Pillage’s 11:29 were not enough, landing them in 14th and 15th respectively with a total of 1396 and 1381. For Brown to get 9th-placed Woojin Park of the Republic of Korea, he would have had to snag 1452 points (56 more), or run 56 seconds faster; for Pillage this was 71 more points or one minute and eleven seconds faster.

In Semifinal B, Choong was third after the Fencing with 235 points, thirteen clear of South Korean Changwan Seo in tenth. While riding Ozturk, he got no penalties to get the full 300 points, riding home in 55.09 seconds. He swam third fastest with 2:06.85 to win 297 points. This meant he led the laser run, 44 seconds ahead of Japanese Taishu Sato in tenth, and he coasted home as one of the slowest in 11:34 for 1438 points in total, sixteen clear (sixteen seconds) of Sato in tenth.

This got Choong to the final. Here, he was fourth with 241 points in fenching, thirteen behind Egyptian Mohanad Shaban in the lead. Riding Kudret, he picked up fourteen penalties (for obstacles) and 286 points (the ninth best). However, he did swim second fastest (in 2:03.99) for 303 points. This put him in second for the laser run, ten seconds behind Shaban, but his 10:36 was not quite fast enough as his Egyptian rival ran 10:44. Therefore, Choong finished with 1494 points; two seconds, and two points, behind Shaban. Silver will not take him to Tokyo, but he (and his teammates) do have more chances.

The women’s side also had British interest. Kerenza Bryson placed well in World Cup events (with a win to her name) in the lead-up to the final. Olivia Green has good pedigree with fifth in last year’s World Championships, while Jessica Varley also has good results as of late.

Bryson was alone in Semifinal A, and won 220 points in Fencing, putting her in sixth and ten clear of Czech Veronika Novotna in tenth. Riding Fuat, she picked up just seven penalties for obstacles (the second best) for 293 points. However, she swam slowest in 2:34.07 for just 242 points. With seven way back due to poor riding performances, Bryson was ninth but thirteen seconds clear of Mariana Arceo of Mexico in tenth. A 12:21 got her the 1314 points she needed for eighth, 34 points/seconds clear of Andrea Medina Gonzalez of Spain.

In Semifinal B, Varley pulled out, making Green the only British contender. 210 points in Fencing was only enough for 11th, two points behind Mexican Catherine Mayran Oliver in ninth. However, riding Nisa, she picked up just seven obstacle penalties (with just two riders going perfect) for 293 points. This was followed by a sixth-best 2:20.18 in swimming for 270 points. Green was now sixth, 31 seconds clear of Lithuanian Gintare Venckausakite in tenth, and a 12:28 was enough for seventh with 1325 points, ten points/seconds clear of Hungarian Blanka Guzi in tenth.

Therefore, Bryson and Green were both in the final. Bryson was 7th with 222 points, Green 12th with 210 after Fencing, putting them 27/39 behind France’s Marie Oteiza in first. Green then rode perfectly on Funda in 58 seconds for 300 points, but Bryson picked up 21 penalties for 279 on Kayra. Swimming was not kind to the Brits, with Green 14th with a 2:22.85, and Bryson 17th with a 2:25.83. This left Green in eighth with a 47 second handicap to Oteiza and Bryson eleventh with a 1:02 deficit. Of course, this was far too great, with Bryson’s 11:47 putting her in sixth, with 1353 points (24 seconds/points behind Italian winner Elena Micheli) and Green tenth with 1334 points (43 seconds/points behind).

This means that GB’s athletes will get their next chance at the European Games (25 Jun-1 Jul, Kraków, POL), with the top eight athletes (one per NOC) that have not already got a spot getting a place. A big chance for GB to get their hands on a place in both genders.

The action (or at least, the Olympic action) is over from the European Shooting Championship (10m) in Tallinn, Estonia. In all events, the top two qualified for the Olympics, respecting that those two can’t be from the same NOC and mustn’t have already qualified a place. Furthermore, qualifying an athlete in the same event for both genders would also earn a place in the mixed team competition.

In the men’s 10m air pistol, Kristian Michael Smeeton Callaghan and James Andrew John Miller went for GB. With six hundred shots, the top eight would qualify. Callaghan did best, coming twelfth with 578 hits (18x) and Miller’s 577 (24x) was enough for fourteenth. A respectable performance, but not enough to qualify for the next round.

In the 10m air rifle, it was Dean Bale that went for us. The top eight would qualify again, with sixty shots each and the maximum score being 10.9 per shot. His score of 625.4 was enough for 35th, being ahead of Hungarian Soma Richard Hammerl due to a better score in the last series. Either way this was not enough to qualify.

No British woman entered the 10m air pistol, but Katie Gleeson and Seonaid McIntosh entered the 10m air rifle. In qualification, McIntosh was top with a 632.5, while Gleeson was 58th with a 621.5, again being named ahead of Lithuanian Jurate Manke due to a better final-series score. McIntosh advanced to the ranking round. Here, after fifteen shots, those ranked 7 and 8 must withdraw, then another five until those in place 5 and 6 are gone, and another five where those ranked third and fourth are also gone. The final two advance to a gold medal match.

McIntosh led throughout, and after fifteen shots it was Swiss Chiara Leone in seventh with 153.5 and Romanian Roxana Sidi in eighth with 153.4 that were out. Five shots more and McIntosh was comfortable, with Serbian Teodora Vukojevic on 206.3 and Norwegian Jenny Stene on 205.6 in fifth and sixth. German Anna Janssen on 259.2 got bronze and Finn Emmi Hyrkas was next on 257.7. In the end, McIntosh topped the charts with 264.4 and Norwegian Jeanette Hegg Duestad was second on 262.6.

In the final, both athletes shoot one at a time: the winner gets two points, unless they are tied in which both get one point. The first to sixteen wins. While McIntosh led early on, this soon subsided and Duestad ended up winning 16-10. However, the silver medal was good enough for an Olympic spot for McIntosh. The next chance to see the shooters in action is at the European Games in Poland in June and July.

After a winter with little action, Paris 2024 qualification action resumes as spring arrives. The 10m European Shooting Championship in Tallinn is coming up. The Ring Sport and Spa Centre is one of the Estonian capital’s finest arenas of its kind, and now hosts some of Europe’s best.

For Great Britain, we have already qualified a few athletes, but not in 10m events. A maximum of two can be qualified per country in shooting events, but not two from the same country in the same event. Two per event qualify here: there are men’s and women’s 10m air rifle and 10m air pistol events. There are also mixed events: if a Brit of both genders qualifies in the same event, they will automatically be paired for a team.

Starting on the men’s side with the air rifle. Dean Bale is our sole entrant on this event. The world #54, he came 75th in the World Championships, the sole other qualifier. Therefore, a top-two finish may be too hard this time. With the air pistol, Kristian Callaghan and James Miller don the red white and blue. Callaghan came 30th in the world championships and has a current ranking of fourteen, while Miller came 52nd and is ranked sixteenth. Again, this may be a bridge too far.

On the women’s side, Katie Gleeson and Seonaid McIntosh go for GB. Gleeson’s current ranking is 113. McIntosh is the most exciting for us at this event. Twelfth at the Olympics in Tokyo, she was sixth at the World Championships and can target qualification. We do not have an entrant in the pistol. The pistol events are on 10 March, with the Rifle on 11 march.