With one guaranteed medal and two matches to get another, Madrid has turned out to be Gibson’s best World Cup of the season.
Whilst still seeding highly in qualification in all four, the closest she came to a podium was the quarterfinals in Antalya [stage three], losing to the eventual bronze medallist Arina Cherkezova.
Bronze a couple of weeks before then – also in Antalya at the European Outdoor Championships – has been her best result since transitioning from indoors into 50 metres shooting this summer, but visibly her early exits have hinted she has been far from satisfied with the result.
Even yesterday Gibson played down her contributions for Great Britain, laying a lot of the credit on Scott.
As humble as she has been this week though, it is only her on the shooting line at the end of the day, and the pressure of wanting to guarantee a spot in Saltillo – the location for the 2026 Final – she felt gave her the necessary kick, in addition to some technical tweaks.
“I changed my arrow recipe before the European Championship, and that gave me a lot more forgiving setup. I think I was just a little bit too stiff in my arrows, so that helped a lot.”
“But also sometimes just having to do it,” she added when asked on the differences of Madrid. “Going like, if you don’t perform this week, you’ll not be making the World Cup Final and it’s just that simple.”
“I haven’t missed it since I first went and I want to keep that going. Of course, I want to win a medal since the change in the results last year. I’d really love to get a gold at some point.”
Tomorrow afternoon Gibson can get one step closer to Saltillo, but her focus will also be on the mixed team final, which is in the morning at the Complutense National Stadium as are all compound team gold medal matches.
