Florian Peter Secures Bronze at Munich World Cup, Marking Eighth Career Medal
Munich, May 29, 2026 – German Rapid Fire Pistol shooters once again proved their mettle at the Munich World Cup. Florian Peter (Obertshausen) secured a bronze medal on the penultimate day of the competition (May 26-30), adding to his silver from the previous year. This marks his eighth career World Cup medal. European champion Oliver Geis also reached the final, finishing eighth. In contrast, the German rifle shooters in the men’s three-position event failed to qualify for the finals. Upcoming finals will be streamed live on Sporteurope.TV.
Rapid Fire Pistol: Two in the Final, One on the Podium
The standard mantra of Rapid Fire Pistol national coach Detlef Glenz is: “We want two shooters in the final and one on the podium.” His athletes delivered, with Oliver Geis and Florian Peter both reaching the final. They were joined by competitors from China, Korea, Italy, and three from France.
European champion Geis, however, had a difficult start, hitting only two targets in the first series and incurring a penalty for a late shot. “I had a tough start, then it went quite well again. In the third series, I somehow lost control again,” Geis commented on his brief appearance in the final, where he finished eighth. His conclusion: “Mistakes are punished even more harshly in the new format; the first series must be right. That means: do better next time.”
Peter, the Olympic fourth-place finisher from Paris, was a strong contender from the beginning. After three hits in the sixth series, he was tied with Korea’s Gunhyeok Lee (23 hits), leading to a shoot-off for the bronze medal. Lee scored three hits, but Peter countered with four, securing his bronze. Although he shot a perfect five hits in the next series, as Clement Bessaguet/FRA and China’s Lianbofan Su achieved the same result, the bronze remained Peter’s. “I am very satisfied. Of course, you always make mistakes, and at times I shot unorthodoxly, but it still worked. I’m glad it went really well at the home World Cup after it hadn’t been working out lately.” The victory went to Su with a new world record (35), and silver to Bessaguet (34), who also surpassed Geis’s European Championship score (32).
In the qualification round, the duo delivered a thrilling performance for the fans. Peter initially shot three series with 97 hits, totaling 583 rings. Geis, on the other hand, made a precise finish: after his penultimate shot landed in the eight, he completed the series with a ten after 4.3 seconds. A hundredth of a second more would have resulted in an “overtime” penalty. “That was a close call; I gambled a bit in that series,” he admitted. National coach Detlef Glenz breathed a sigh of relief, as Geis qualified for the final in seventh place with 584 rings, while Peter was ninth. However, an athlete shooting with RPO status ahead of him allowed Peter to slip into the final as the eighth qualifier. “I hadn’t expected to reach the final with 583 rings; the others played into my hands. Those written off live longest.”
Emanuel Müller, like in the first half of the program, scored 289 rings, totaling 578 (23rd place) – a result that left him dissatisfied. However, he viewed it with perspective: “All in all, it was actually a good competition with minor problems that unfortunately had bigger consequences. And there were many close calls. But the number as a final result looks bad, and that’s a bit of a shame.” Fabian Otto also returned from the range unhappy, having aimed for more than his 565 rings (56th place).
Men’s Small Bore Three-Position Rifle: Opportunity Missed
“Normally, it’s a piece of cake,” said Maximilian Ulbrich after the competition, meaning everything was set to reach the final in the small-bore three-position event. He immediately added: “Unfortunately, not this time!” What happened? Ulbrich had secured an excellent starting position with a very good 397 rings from the kneeling and prone positions (“I shot very, very good sling disciplines; I’ve never had such high results in such a competition.”), but he couldn’t convert it successfully. In the standing position (“Standing is my safest discipline, which I can rely on.”), Ulbrich faltered, scoring “only” 192 rings. Therefore, his conclusion was mixed: “First of all, I’m disappointed. It would have been nice to be in the final in Munich, especially since I’ve never been in a small-bore final at a World Cup. Nevertheless, it was a good step forward that the sling disciplines can work great. Perhaps I put too much pressure on myself in standing, perhaps because I’m not so used to it. Overall, 16th place is respectable.”
David Koenders’ competition unfolded similarly. With 295 rings from the first two positions, he aimed to attack but had a complete false start in the standing position. “Somehow, it was a blackout,” he commented on the eight and nine, then perfectly executed the art of suppression: “It only helps to put it behind you and move on, and I then finished with eight inner tens.” He ultimately lacked exactly these three rings to reach the final entry of 591 rings. His conclusion: “It was a decent competition; there was a lot of good in it. In the end, the shots hurt; you lose three rings on two shots out of twelve rings in total.”
Max Ohlenburger (587, 39th place) and Maximilian Dallinger (586, 43rd place) also achieved good results. Daniel Bühlmeyer, who, like Dallinger, competed as an RPO athlete, dropped some rings in the first standing series, placing 62nd (581).
In the final, Jon-Hermann Hegg/NOR took the top spot, winning ahead of the two Frenchmen Lucas Kryzs and Dimitri Dutendas.
Women’s Air Pistol: Searching for Success
For some time, the women’s air pistol discipline has been a cause for concern in the DSB. German shooters rarely manage to compete internationally. It was therefore no surprise that the final at the home World Cup in Munich took place without German participation. Nevertheless, Josefin Eder, who started as an RPO, said after her competition: “I am very satisfied. I implemented what I had said after the sport pistol: I want to concentrate more on the action and the technique.” And that worked well. Eder shot stable series and ended up with 573 rings (25th place). “The result is stable but still has room for improvement,” said Eder, who is herself searching for why German women’s air pistol performance is not as strong as, for example, in sport pistol: “I think it’s a lot about concentration endurance and constant work, not getting distracted. In sport pistol, we have a break after every five shots. You have to find the right tactic for yourself and find what works for you.” This also applies to Michelle Skeries (568, 59th place), Susanne Neisinger (566, 69th place), Sarah Tauermann (566, 70th place RPO), and Svenja Berge (560, 90th place).
The Indians celebrated a double victory with Suruchi (first) and Esha Sing, who had already demonstrated her world-class performance as the winner in the sport pistol event. Bronze went to Gaeun Choo/KOR.
The German Team in Munich
Rifle: David Koenders (Neubiberg), Max Ohlenburger (Idstein), Maximilian Ulbrich (Wilzhofen), Maximilian Dallinger (Freising), Daniel Bühlmeyer, Hanna Bühlmeyer (both Weiltingen), Lisa Grub (Weingarten), Anna Janßen (Kevelaer), Nele Stark (Güglingen), Hannah Steffen-Dix (Ohlweiler), Larissa Wegner (Mannheim), Lea Ruppel (Herbstein)
Pistol: Josefin Eder (Müllrose), Monika Karsch (Regensburg), Doreen Vennekamp (Ronneburg), Michelle Skeries (Potsdam), Svenja Berge (Bad Camberg), Susanne Neisinger (Wien), Sarah Tauermann (Grasleben), Andreas Köppl (Lampenricht), Oliver Geis (Bad Camberg), Emanuel Müller (Pfullingen), Florian Peter (Obertshausen), Fabian Otto (Heringen), Christian Reitz (Regensburg), Robin Walter (Reichenbach), Paul Fröhlich (Hitzhofen), Michael Schwald (Lörrach)
Coaches: Wolfram Waibel, Claudia Verdicchio-Krause, Detlef Glenz, Marco Hilger, Sven Martini, Sandro Schrüfer, Steffen Jabin, Thomas Zerbach, Sandra Reitz, Marco Spangenberg, Hans-Jörg Meyer, Victoria Nolte, Benedikt Schuster, Marco Kleer
Source: https://www.dsb.de/aktuelles/artikel/news/weltcup-muenchen-florian-peter-gewinnt-dritte-dsb-medaille
