Kansas City, KS – The 2023 European Handgun Championship was held in Corinth, Greece from September 24-30, 2023. In a highly competitive field featuring the world’s top shooters, the members of the CZ Shooting Team, an international team representing the brand, excelled with CZ pistols in hand.
This year’s European Championship unfolded at a shooting range in Corinth, Greece, with 24 challenging shooting stages set up for a total of 1,319 shooters hailing from 63 countries. The CZ Shooting Team arrived well-prepared and successfully navigated these demanding trials, achieving outstanding results.
In the European Handgun Championship, the CZ Shooting Team showcased their exceptional skills and dominated various divisions, thanks in part to the precision and reliability of CZ pistols. In the OPEN division, Robin Sebo’s remarkable performance secured him a gold medal and the title of European Champion. Miroslav Havlicek and Martina Sera also achieved success, with a third-place finish and a silver medal, respectively, all using the CZ 75 TS CZECHMATE pistols.
In the PRODUCTION OPTICS division, Martin Kamenicek successfully defended his European Champion title, clinching another gold medal with the CZ SHADOW 2 OR pistol. Meanwhile, in the PRODUCTION division, the CZ Shooting Team’s prowess was on full display, with Eric Grauffel emerging as a ten-time European Champion. Team members like Miguel Ramos and Gaston Quindi Vallerga delivered impressive performances.
The team’s success extended to other categories as well, with Ljubisa Momcilovic earning the title of European Champion in the Senior category, Camilla Almici securing a gold medal in the Women’s category, and Juan Pablo Duran claiming the President’s Medal in the Junior category. Notably, the use of CZ SHADOW 2 ORANGE pistols played a pivotal role in their victories. In the STANDARD division, Filipino Kahlil Adrian Viray stood out as the overall winner, outscoring his competitors by a remarkable margin. The European ranking also saw success with Josef Rakusan, Zdenek Liehne, and Petr Znamenacek, all utilizing CZ TS 2 ORANGE pistols, achieving top placements. The CZ Shooting Team’s exceptional achievements underscore the quality and performance of CZ pistols in the competitive shooting world.
CZ Pistols have emerged as the dominant choice in the European Handgun Championship, and their consistent success can be attributed to their unparalleled combination of precision engineering, superior craftsmanship, and innovative design. In particular, models like the CZ SHADOW 2 ORANGE, CZ TS 2 ORANGE, CZ 75 TS CZECHMATE, and the CZ SHADOW 2 OR have garnered acclaim for their exceptional accuracy, ergonomic grips, and outstanding recoil management. These pistols are crafted with meticulous attention to detail, ensuring that every shot fired is as precise as possible. Additionally, CZ’s commitment to continuous improvement and their willingness to incorporate feedback from professional shooters have led to the development of pistols that perfectly cater to the needs of competitive shooters in the European Handgun Championship. With their cutting-edge features and unwavering reliability, CZ Pistols have rightfully earned their place at the forefront of this prestigious championship, helping athletes achieve their best performance on the international stage.
The Czech team boasted a record participation of nearly 50 shooters spanning all age categories. Overall, Czech shooters secured 25 medals (8 gold, 4 President’s, 7 silver, and 6 bronze) from individual and team events at this year’s IPSC European Shooting Championship. In the medal count ranking among countries, the Czech team finished just behind Italy, becoming the second most successful country in the championship.
As the main sponsor of the 2023 European Handgun Championship, CZ would like to extend their gratitude for the excellent organization of the competition, congratulate the winners, and wish continued success to the members of the CZ Shooting Team and all other CZ firearm users in future competitions.
Ceska zbrojovka a.s. (CZ) is a Czech manufacturer of precision-engineered commercial and military firearms that are exported to more than 100 countries around the world. Founded in 1936, it initially focused on the supply of firearms for domestic and international armed forces. Over the years, it gradually extended its portfolio with a wide range of domestic firearms for hunting, sport, and hobby shooting. Since 2022, CZ has been one of the key pillars of Colt CZ Group SE.
