On this day in sport Daina Gudzinevičiūtė was crowned as the first Lithuanian woman to win an Olympic Gold medal during her nation’s Independence.
However, this may not have been the case had it not been for the Olympic committee who granted the inclusion of Trap Shooting at the Sydney Olympics.
Thankfully, Gudzinevičiūtė, who had won dual European Championships under Soviet occupation, was able to represent her nation in the maiden tournament.
She would score 71 points in the qualification round, an automatic Olympic record, ahead of Gao E’s 69 (China) while Anne Focan (Belgium) and Delphine Racinet (France).
The 34-year-old would maintain her composure in the final extending her lead and reclaiming her record of 93, a single point ahead of silver medallist Racinet.
Gudzinevičiūtė, now 48, would go onto compete in the following three Olympics before she was elected as the president of her nation’s Olympic committee in 2012.
Her Olympic record would also last until 2012 when Italian Jessica Rossi claimed the honours at the London Olympics (scoring 99 points).
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