Barbara Gambaro looks towards Paris 2024.

Sensational: South Tyrolean jumps on the Olympic bandwagon

Nobody expected this, not even she herself: sports shooter Barbara Gambaro from Silandro has opened the door for Paris 2024. And in an extremely bizarre way.

June 07, 2024

From: fop

The series of coincidences, strange circumstances and sporting competition capers is almost unbelievable, but one thing is certain: Barbara Gambaro has the ticket for the 2024 Olympics in her hand, but this still has to be solved.

Gambaro finished 44th in the World Cup three-position match in Munich on Thursday. To put it mildly, this is a mixed result for the 32-year-old sports shooter from Vinschgau. And yet it should be enough to qualify for the Olympics, which was never hoped for.

For a long time, Gambaro couldn't even think about Paris 2024 because countless athletes already had the ticket in their pockets or were ahead of her in the rankings. Since several quota places suddenly became available, a showdown with a sensational outcome developed in the World Cup qualifying in Munich.

Barbara Gambaro in action at the World Cup in Munich. © UITS/M. Massetti

Gambaro was in sixth place in the Olympic qualification rankings before the shooting in Munich. Since the five vacant fixed places will be awarded to the five best placed on the qualifying list, the dream suddenly became within reach. A 44th place in Munich was ultimately enough to narrowly edge past the Slovenian Urska Kuharic in the Olympic rankings and take the longed-for fifth place.

The dress code thing

However, Gambaro achieved this 44th place long after the end of the competition and in a strange way: initially the South Tyrolean was ranked 45th, her Olympic dream seemed to have already been dashed, then a jury decision turned everything upside down. The Indian Shriyanka Sadangi, who placed ahead of her, was disqualified for violating the dress code. Gambaro moved up to 44th place and thus gained the necessary points to move up to fifth place in the Olympic rankings with a minimal lead.

"Let's hope the best." Barbara Gambaro

“That’s exactly how it happened,” Gambaro confirms SportNews-Demand. However, due to the bizarre circumstances, the experienced sports shooter is still keeping a low profile. “Theoretically it should work, but the Olympic qualification will not be officially confirmed until June 16th. Let’s hope for the best,” said Gambaro. In fact, your ticket for Paris will only be purchased if the current five vacant quota places remain and these are officially passed on by the international association to the five best placed in the qualifying rankings.

These South Tyroleans are there

In the meantime, Barbara Gambaro can dream of the Olympics. After Edith Gufler and Petra Zublasing, she would be the third sports shooter from South Tyrol to take part in the Summer Olympics.

Gambaro would be a tennis star Jannik Sinner and triathlete Verena Steinhauser the third fixed starter from South Tyrol. Volleyball player Simone Giannelli is almost guaranteed to get the ticket, table tennis players Giorgia Piccolin and Debora Vivarelli as well as professional cyclists Greta Seiwald and Alessia Vigilia also have good chances. Filip Schenk (climbing) can also still hope.