CZ Yearbook 2019 /eng

| 45 You became a member of the CZ Shooting Team in August 2015, during the USPSA Cham- pionships. It is said that your decision to join the team was very spontaneous. How do you feel about that decision now, more than four years and a world champion title later? I am so happy that fate made me cross paths with the CZ Shooting Team. At the time I had rented a gun which was not very good, so I tried the CZ 75 SP-01 SHADOW pistol. This gun gave me the oppor- tunity to discover my shooting boundaries and I was able to get very good results. So, when I was given the offer to join the CZ team, I readily agreed. The following year I competed with the new CZ SHADOW 2 model which I completely fell in love with, as it has made me go further still. Lately, we have seen youmore often in the Open division with a CZ 75 TS CZECHMATE, has this division become your favourite now? I t h i nk I have exp l o r ed everything in the Production Division and achieved all the goals. It breaks my heart but I think the time has come to I love speed! An interview with three-time world champion Maria Gushchina Maria Gushchina was born in 1995 in Russia, home country to many famous shooters – a tradition she follows in impressive fashion. Introduced to shooting at age 11, she imme- diately fell in love with IPSC shooting, quickly making her way to the absolute top of the sport. She became world champion in the Lady Production Division for the first time in 2011 and has since repeated this feat twice more – most recently with a CZ SHADOW 2 pistol in 2017 as a member of the CZ Shooting Team. Having dominated the Production Division, she plans to repeat her success in the Open Division. start something new, to feel a little bit of a beginner in a new division and to make new goals. It is always interest- ing to improve your skills and see your progress and I think the Open gun will give me this feeling. Besides, I love speed a lot and I really don’t love re- loading my gun for stages, so that’s why this division is my dream come true. Where canwe see you in 2019? This shooting season I will compete in Australia, Russia, a few big Czech matches, Ger- many, Philippines and Serbia. You and Robin Šebo are amongst the absolute elite in the CZ Shooting Team. You are both very competitive. What is the relationship like? I am lucky to have him. He is my shooting paragon whose results I aim to achieve. I can compare my shooting and his and see how good or bad I shoot in a match, if I have to push a little or be careful and not to take any risks during the next few days of the com- petition. It is also good to have a reliable partner who helps you, supports you and laughs with you during competitions. In 2018 you triumphed at the Far East Asia Handgun IPSC Championship, where you won the Production Overall with your CZ SHADOW2 pistol, beating 140 competitors, guys included. What were your feel- ings after the competition? I was the happiest girl in the world at that time. I love to prove that in IPSC everyone is equal, it doesn’t matter what gender and age you are – if you have talent, passion and you work hard – you can win! You always like to push your shooting further, what are your next goals? I would prefer to keep that a secret. The only thing I can tell is that I want to achieve the maximum result in the Open Division. Please allow me one personal question. You are said to en- joy karaoke. What is your sig- nature piece? I love karaoke so much that I decided to buy a profession- al karaoke system to have at home. Every few days I sing and try new songs. And I think my best song in karaoke is “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele.