Summer Olympic Sports >>Shooting

ABOUT

Olympic history abounds with tales of athletes who overcame crippling adversity to win gold medals, but Karoly Takacs' comeback may be the best.  Takacs was part of Hungary's world-champion pistol-shooting team in 1938 when an army grenade exploded in his right hand.  Ten years later, he won the first two golds in rapid-fire pistol - after teaching himself to shoot left-handed.

In a sport where the bullseye looks about the size of the full stop at the end of this sentence, a sport where shooters compete amid a cacophony of noise and still concentrate on firing between heartbeats, Takacs' achievement tests the imagination.

From just three shooting events at the 1896 Olympic Games to 15 today, the sport has grown steadily.  In part this leap can be ascribed to advances in the technology of firearms and equipment, which have led to constant changes in the shooting competition.  But it can also be ascribed to the passion shooters have for their sport.

COMPETITION

At the Olympics there are 15 events: six for women and nine for men.

The shooting events are divided into three different groups: rifle, pistol and shotgun events.  The rifle and pistol events are held on shooting ranges with competitors aiming at targets from distances of 10 meters, 25 meters and 50 meters.  The shotgun events see competitors shoot at clay targets propelled in different directions.

LIST OF EVENTS *

• 10m air pistol (60 shots) Men

• 10m air rifle (60 shots) Men

• 25m rapid fire pistol (60 shots) Men

• 50m pistol (60 shots) Men

• 50m rifle 3 positions (3x40 shots) Men

• 50m rifle prone (60 shots) Men

• Double trap (150 targets) Men

• Skeet (125 targets) Men

• trap (125 targets) Men

• 10m air pistol (40 shots) Women

• 10m air rifle (40 shots) Women

• 25m pistol (30+30 shots) Women

• 50m rifle 3 positions (3x20 shots) Women

• Skeet (75 targets) Women