Chiara Leone Secures First Gold for Switzerland at Paris Olympics in Shooting Event

Chiara Leone has won Switzerland's first gold medal at the Paris Olympics in the women's 50-meter rifle three positions shooting event. She narrowly defeated the United States' Sagen Maddalena by 1.4 points. Leone's victory broke the Olympic record set at the Tokyo Games, and she was inspired by her fellow countrywoman Audrey Gogniat's earlier success.

Chiara Leone has claimed Switzerland's first gold medal at the Paris Olympics, triumphing in the women's 50-meter rifle three positions shooting event on Friday.

Leone narrowly edged out Sagen Maddalena of the United States by a slim margin of 1.4 points in the final round. China's Zhang Qiongyue secured the bronze in the event, which required shooting from kneeling, prone, and standing positions.

"I knew I could win," Leone expressed. "I aimed for a medal to hold a piece of the Eiffel Tower in my hands, and winning feels indescribable." Maddalena's silver ended the US's longest drought in Olympic shooting medals since 1988. Despite setting a qualifying record, Maddalena admitted, "I made a couple of mistakes. The pressure in finals makes it challenging to focus. I'll learn from this and keep improving."

Leone, 26, set a new Olympic record with a score of 464.4, surpassing the previous record held by fellow Swiss shooter Nina Christen. She credited her success partly to the inspiration from countrywoman Audrey Gogniat, who won bronze in the 10-meter air rifle event earlier in the week. "We will have a big party," Leone shared. "I don't know when or where, but we will celebrate."

(With inputs from agencies.)