Bernau takes trapshooting silver in first World Cup
If the international trapshooting community wasn’t aware of Madelynn Bernau before last week, it is now.
In her first full World Cup competition, the 23-year-old from Waterford on Friday won the silver medal in women’s trapshooting at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) event in Lonato, Italy.
On Saturday she added a bronze in women’s team trapshooting with U.S. teammates Kayle Browning and Rachel Tozier.
The World Cup event was the first major international shotgun sports competition in more than a year and featured most of the world’s top skeet and trapshooters. The field included 400 participants from 63 nations and was considered a preview for the Tokyo Olympics.
Bernau, who graduated from college in 2020, had only competed in junior international competitions prior to last week.
Her performance in Lonato clearly showed she belongs on the world’s biggest trapshooting stage.
“I love representing my country, and this is all icing on the cake,” Bernau said Saturday in an interview with Kate Gest of USA Shooting. “A sweet treat in all of the time I’ve put into this sport.”
It started Thursday as Bernau began the 25-target qualification rounds against 66 other women. After three rounds (24, 22 and 25 targets hit, respectively) she was in third place. After the final two rounds (24, 23) Friday morning she rose to second. The 25 on Thursday was the first perfect round in Bernau’s international career.
Friday afternoon, as the Lonato trap field was buffeted by a strong left-toright crossing breeze, she took the field in the women’s finals against the other top five.
After 40 targets the knockout format had narrowed the competition to two: Bernau and Alessandra Perilli, 33, of San Marino.
The tense matchup ended tied at 42 at the end of regulation. Perilli then edged Bernau by one target in a shootout.
Perilli is a World Cup veteran and was ranked #2 in the world prior to the Lonato competition, according to the ISSF. Bernau was 81st.
Her ranking will rise substantially after her performance in Italy. It will also place her among the medal favorites in the Tokyo Olympics in July.
Bernau was the only American to make the women’s trapshooting finals. The other U.S. entrants were Rachel Tozier (finished 21st), Ashley Carrol (25th), Kayle Browning (38th) and Julia Stallings (49th).
The strength of Bernau’s performance was evident in more than medals. Her total of 164 targets was tied with Fatima Galvez of Spain for the most hit through seven rounds of team qualifying. Only five of the 36 women who completed all seven rounds scored 160 or higher.
Bernau has an opportunity to add to her international medal winnings on Sunday when she competes in mixed trapshooting with U.S. teammate Brian Burrows.
Bernau and most of the other USA Shooting team members are scheduled to stay in Italy and participate in the Beretta Green Cup (also called the Italian Open) which concludes May 23 in Todi.
Bernau and several of her team members will then turn their sights to the Tokyo Olympics.