CHÂTEAUROUX – Armenia’s national shooting team achieved remarkable success at the European Running Target Championships held in Châteauroux, France, bringing home gold, silver, and bronze medals.
In the men’s 10m running target mixed event, Armenia saw a double podium finish. Gor Khachatryan became European champion with 385 points, while Hayk Minasyan secured the silver medal with 383 points. Together with Hovhannes Margaryan, the trio also won the team gold medal in the event.
In the women’s individual 10m running target standard event, Arusyak Grigoryan won the bronze medal. Scoring 559 points in the qualification round, she advanced to the top four. In the bronze medal match, she defeated her Ukrainian opponent with a score of 8:6.
In the team competition for the women’s 10m running target mixed event, the trio of Gohar Harutyunyan, Lilit Mkrtchyan, and Arusyak Grigoryan claimed gold with a total score of 1103 points.
In the men’s team event for the 10m running target standard discipline, the trio of Gor Khachatryan, Hovhannes Margaryan, and Hayk Minasyan won the team gold medal with a total of 1696 points. Meanwhile, Harutyunyan, Mkrtchyan, and Grigoryan secured the team silver medal in the women’s standard discipline with 1656 points.
In the mixed pairs event, Hovhannes Margaryan and Arusyak Grigoryan earned bronze. They qualified for the semifinals with 381 points. After losing to Ukraine 4:6 in the semifinal, they won the bronze medal match 8:6, finishing third overall.
Aida Azatyan won the gold medal in the junior individual 10m running target standard event, while Lilit Mkrtchyan claimed silver. In the qualification round, Azatyan scored 533 and Mkrtchyan 528, placing 3rd and 4th respectively. Both advanced to the semifinals, where they defeated their opponents to reach the final. In the final, Azatyan emerged victorious with a 7:5 win.
In the junior 10m running target mixed event, Azatyan also won silver with a score of 369 points.
A highlight of the competition came in the men’s 50m running target standard individual event, where Gyumri native Hovhannes Margaryan claimed gold, breaking both the European and World records.
Lilit Mkrtchyan reached the podium for the fourth time, earning bronze in the women’s 50m running target standard event. She scored 572 points in the final (288 in slow runs and 284 in fast runs), placing behind Finland’s Julianna Ida Heikkilä (581, a European record) and Ukraine’s Halyna Avramenko (573).
