Alessandra Perilli creates history by winning the first Olympic medal EVER for San Marino after 61 years of trying ā€“ and the country with just 34,000 people is now the SMALLEST to ever win one

  • The 33-year-old trap shooter took bronze at the Asaka Shooting RangeĀ 
  • It was Perilli's second attempt but her country's 25th appearance in the Games
  • Zuzana Rehak Stefecekova of Slovakia took gold in the event and Team USA's Kayle Browning finished behind her

Alessandro Perilli, 33, took bronze to earn the first medal in San MarinoĀ“s 61-year Olympic history

Alessandro Perilli, 33, took bronze to earn the first medal in San MarinoĀ“s 61-year Olympic history

Alessandro Perilli took bronze to earn the first medal in San MarinoĀ“s 61-year Olympic history.Ā 

The 33-year-old trap shooter brought her country Olympic glory at the Asaka Shooting Range on Wednesday.

With a population of 33,860, the bronze also makes San Marino the smallest country to ever win an Olympic medal.Ā 


It was Perilli's second attempt but her country's 25th appearance in the Games.Ā Ā 

After debuting in the 1960 summer Olympics, San Marino has competed in 14 summer and 10 winter Games with a total of 93 athletes.

Four other athletes from Team San Marino are competing in Tokyo, including trap shooter Paolo Persoglia, swimmer Arianna Valloni and wrestler Myles Amine.Ā 

It was Perilli's second attempt but her country's 25th appearance in the Games

It was Perilli's second attempt but her country's 25th appearance in the GamesĀ 

But it was Perilli who became a San Marino sporting hero with her third place finish. Zuzana Rehak Stefecekova of Slovakia took gold in the event with an Olympic record score of 43 and Team USA's Kayle Browning finished behind her with 42 to win silver.

The bronze is extra sweet for Perilli after finishing in a three-way tie for second place in her first Games at London's 2012 Olympics.

In the tie-breaking shoot-off with Stefecekova and Team France's Delphine Reau, Perilli missed first and knocked her and her country off the podium.Ā 

She missed the finals in the 2016 Olympics.Ā 

Gold medalist Zuzana Rehak Stefecekova of Team Slovakia (center), silver medalist Kayle Browning of Team USA (left) and bronze medalist Alessandra Perilli of Team San Marino (right) celebrate after the women's trap shooting final

Gold medalist Zuzana Rehak Stefecekova of Team Slovakia (center), silver medalist Kayle Browning of Team USA (left) and bronze medalist Alessandra Perilli of Team San Marino (right) celebrate after the women's trap shooting final

The victory is extra sweet for Perilli after finishing in a three-way tie for second place in her first Games at London's 2012 Olympics

The victory is extra sweet for Perilli after finishing in a three-way tie for second place in her first Games at London's 2012 Olympics

Perilli's bronze is all the more remarkable given the size of her country. Many international viewers wouldn't even be able to place San Marino on a map. The country of only 34,00 people is land-locked, surrounded by Italy on all sides and isĀ the least-visited country in Europe. Only 60,000 tourists traveled here in 2017.

It makes most of its income from the manufacture and export of ceramics, tiles, building materials, furniture, clothing, fabrics and paints.

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